Not so much a concept album as a meditation on a theme, Graffiti Tapes is (mostly) about Brian Wilson and young people. It's about Brian Wilson and his work as a prism through which we view youthful things. It's about the feelings that start with him getting all mixed up in our feelings for other people and other music (and vice versa). Inspired by a college thesis, changing relationships, and a fateful meeting with the aging once-spokesperson for vibrant youth, Pink Graffiti is a record that uses one artist to anchor and explore a peculiar set of experiences, thoughts and emotions. By drawing on fractured psych, girl groups and minimalist composers, Secret Cities have conjured a kaleidoscopic, strangely moving whole out of disparate pieces. ... read more