This marked the point where shit got real, or less unreal, anyway. Recorded in various studios and grave-robbed from earlier EPs and singles, Before Today stands second only to The Doldrums in terms of sequencing acumen; it screams “rock album” in a way that no other entry on this list does, exuding an aesthesia cool and distance, the production sharper by a matter of degrees. There’s a deliberateness and seriousness of intent at work here separating it from funnier, ickier successor Mature Themes: one doesn’t giggle at or with, say, “Round and Round” — one marvels at its melting street-lamp tonalities and the seductive arrangements. One thrills to the roadhouse ivory stomp of “Little Wig,” which would nicely complement a capsule of trucker speed, or to the deep shag-rug swirl cover of The Ramrods’ “Bright Lit Blue Skies.” Wood-paneled “Can’t Hear My Eyes” is deployed with such pop acuity that’s easy to overlook how oddly angled its lyrical conceit is. (Did you know that members of Cryptacize sing backing vocals on that song? Now you do.) “Fright Night” delivers grade-A horror schlock, but actual ribaldry/misandry is confined to the pile driving (in more ways than one) “Butt-House Blondies” and no-tempo dirge “Menopause Man.” Before Today isn’t the Platonic ideal of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti by any means, but you’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.