Thursday, June 25, 2009

Everything I Missed: Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavilion

In the six months I have been running this blog. I have only posted to music reviews. So in order to make up for this I will be posting reviews of everything I have not covered. Now chanches are you have already made your opinion these albums months ago and I am about 3 million years to late with these. But who knows, I may make you give it another chance/hate it. Plus I desperately need to up my post output and improve my writing, so deal with it. And enjoy. Oh, and don't confuse these reviews with the more current album reviews I will be posting as well.
Now in the debate of overhyped bands, Animal Collective have reached the forefront, with many declaring Merriweather Post Pavilion either the best or worst album of the year without even hearing it. After actually listening to it, it must be said that this album is a grower. By just looking at the cover art (a trippy optical illusion) of the sound of the album. The music of Merriweather are much more drawn out in the vain of Panda Bear’s Person Pitch album or Strawberry Jam’s #1. At times this works wonderfully. Brothersport comes off as a demented Beach Boys song with the vinyl caught in a loop while My Girls takes everything Fireworks did and Turns it into an insanely mutant and catchy pop song. Summertime Clothes could be the catchiest song Animal Collective have done. Then there are the "other tracks". Track like Daily Routine which comes off as a mindless drone while No More Runnin tries to take the wonderful repetition of Brotherspot and make it beautiful, but fails, badly. However, that is the point of the album. Animal Collective tried to a beautiful, lush album. And they almost entirely succeed. Lion in a Coma, built around the best jug harp sample ever, starts simple and grows before smashing with the keyboards at the end. Bluish achieves the style perfectly, balancing beauty with pop drone. If only they had cut tracks like Also Frightened, they might have a perfect album.

Animal Collective-My Girls (courtasy of Pop Tarts Suck Toasted)

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