Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
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Free Music Notes for Merriweather Post Pavilion
Free Music Review: I'm getting lost in your curls
Hit: 5 Stars
Animal Collective are one of the most acclaimed indie bands around. They're also one of the most polarizing. You don't often hear someone say, "Animal Collective? Meh. They're okay." It's either, "Man, they're freaking awesome," or "Ya, I just don't get it. What's the appeal?" I was a longtime member of the latter group until about a year ago. Admittedly, I hadn't heard too much of their stuff, what I had heard was mostly their oldest (read: weirdest) stuff, and I had never really given them the time of day. Then I heard the song "#1" from the album 'Strawberry Jam' and really liked it. I listened to the rest of the album and it all just clicked. From there, I fell in love with the band, dutifully scrounging up their past albums.
It was with great anticipation that I listened to 'Merriweather'. I had never heard any live versions of these songs at all before playing this album. I went in with completely virgin ears, free of any expectations or preconceived notions. IMO, this is their greatest album to date, and frankly, it isn't even close. That says more about the quality of MPP then it does of their previous albums.
This has more of an "electronic" sound (for lack of a better word) than past albums. It's not electro-pop or anything like that (maybe "Summertime Clothes" is), but it is very bassy and beat driven. You could almost put this on for a dance party (almost.) I could even imagine an avant garde hip-hop artist rhyming over some of these beats. After finding out that this album was produced by Ben Allen, who has worked with the likes of Gnarls Barkley, P. Diddy, and Christina Aguilera, it made total sense.
It starts off mellow enough, with the wonderful "In the Flowers." It's all beautiful ambiance until about 2:00 in, when Avey Tare says the words, "If I could just leave my body for a night." Then all hell breaks loose. Huge, epic, bassy, synthy awesomeness ensues, until it all simmers back down towards the end.
"My Girls" is probably the catchiest song they've ever recorded, with an amazing, club-ready beat and a chorus of: "I don't mean to seem like I care about material things like a social status/I just want four walls and adobe slats for my girls," followed by a sick drum fill and a shrieking "Woooo!" that would make Ric Flair proud. Not sure if it was intentionally meant to be ironic or not, but I couldn't help but notice that a "social status" isn't really a material thing at all, while "four walls and adobe slats" most certainly are material. Maybe I'm just over-analyzing. Either way, you'll be re-playing that song over and over in your head for some time after hearing it.
"Summertime Clothes" just might be AC's answer to M83's masterful album from 2008, 'Saturdays=Youth'. The first 30 seconds sound very similar to the beginning of the Battles song "Atlas", then it veers into territory that is definitely 80's-ish, but not in a cheeseball way at all. It's a super-catchy tune and is probably the second single behind "My Girls".
"Bluish" is easily the most beautiful song on the album, with a repeating refrain of, "I'm getting lost in your curls," intermingled with lines like, "I like your lips when you get mean." It's a wonderfully ethereal song that evokes memories of high school crushes that felt like they were the only thing worth living for.
The two closing songs, "No More Runnin" and "Brother Sport", couldn't be more different, but they work together wonderfully. The former is a very mellow, sparse, piano driven song that serves as a nice contrast to the rest of the album. The downtime doesn't last long, as "Brother Sport" goes right back to the deep bass and big beat sound, with Panda Bear telling us, "You've gotta open up your, open up your, open up your throat!" It's bouncy and crazy, building layer upon layer to create an incredibly awesome house beat. It's a fantastic end to a fantastic record.
Those are all the highlights, but there aren't really any lowlights to speak of. Whether it's the "#1"-esque synths of "Daily Routine"; the metaphysical musings of "Taste" ("Am I really all the things that are outside of me?" asks Avey); or the didgeridoo driven excitement of "Lion in a Coma", I really can't find any fault with this album. It might alienate some of the hardline, old-school AC fans, but it's just their loss. For anyone who has previously ignored them or just hasn't been feeling this band, give this album a chance. Once it sinks its claws into you, the grip will hold on for quite some time.
Free Music Review: Animal Collective Find What They've Been Looking For
Hit: 5 Stars
On their most ambitious project yet, Animal Collective do not disappoint. Last year's Merriweather Post Pavilion plays like an eclectic (yet somehow coherent) masterpiece of the electronic music genre. On their ninth album, the trio of David "Avey Tare" Portner (guitar, samples), Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox (drums, vocals, samples), and Brian "Geologist" Weitz (electronics, samples) have created a trippy orchestra of electronic music. Each song could not be more different from the previous, but the groups have beautifully mixed the album so that each song melts into the following track. This makes the album best listened to as a whole in a single sitting. On Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective finally has perfected the secret formula for which they have so long striven into a blend of experimental pop and psychedelia. They have effectively succeeded in the electronic music genre, while avoiding the repetitive bass lines and hooks that populate most of the scene today.
On this album, the sound is reminiscent of some of the forefathers of electronic music. For example, there were several moments during the album, but above all on the last two tracks ("No More Running" and "Brother Sport"), where I found the band mimicking the "gritty" and quick short sounds that can be found in the techniques of granular synth and, most notably, Xenakis. Yet at other times, their use of looping acoustic samples had the band sounding like the pioneers of the musique concrète genre, Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry.
The arrangement of the album is also superb. Merriweather Post Pavilion starts out fairly slow. The first song, "In the Flowers", is a steady buildup of slow ambient music until 2:31 when the band explodes into the main melody of the song with a pulsing rhythm. The first few songs are also populated with long sustained synthesizers. The songs gradually build up and pick up speed until the album reaches its musical climax and crescendos with the fast and complex song "Lion in a Coma". The album then comes to a slow close with the last two tracks, "No More Running" and "Brother Sport". On Merriweather, Animal Collective use a variety of techniques to make their sound full, deep, and complex like voice manipulation, and the and manipulation looping of rhythms, vocals, and instruments. It also seems like the whole album has a sort of short echo effect kind thing going on. Each track is incredibly rich, with multiple layers of instruments and sounds going on at the same time. This can make it hard to discern individual instruments or sounds at times. But instead of sounding chaotic, Animal Collective are able to blend each element into a striking composition.
It is ironic that most of the lyrics seem to dream and year for the simple life and espouse the virtues of anti-materialism since their sound is anything but simple. For example on the track "My Girls" Panda Bear sings "I don't mean to seam like I care about material things like a social status/ I just want four walls and adobe slates for my girls". Or on the track "Taste", he questions, "Am I really all the things that are outside of me?" in a repeated refrain.
Other tracks seem to mimic their song title or lyrical content. For example the first few seconds of the song "Bluish" are manipulated underwater sounds. The song "Daily Routine", which discusses the tendency of people to get caught up in the mundane bustle of daily life, like "traffic lights". At the same time, one can hear a series of quick pulses which sound remarkably like the sound of traffic lights rapidly changing.
On Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective have not only pushed their own boundaries to create a masterpiece of the experimental electronic music genre, but have also raised the bar for their other contemporaries like Yeasayer or, even veterans, the Flaming Lips.
Free Music Review: Good n' weird. (The kids will love it!)
Hit: 5 Stars
Ever hear the one about the kid who learned how to fly a MQ-9 Reaper (that's a plane) before learning to ride a bicycle? Yeah, me either, but I did hear the one about the Animal Collective album that every college freshman loved before digesting Remain In Light or Another Green World. Loved before they even heard it.
Okay, okay, let me steady myself. For starters, Merriweather Post Pavilion (a studio album named after an outdoor concert venue) is a perfectly good album that has many perfectly great moments. Is it a great album that warrants underground hysteria? Ehh ... we'll address the actual tunes later, I'm more so concerned with the surprising reception the record has seen. I find it difficult to believe that an album this complex, this strange, this abstract and, I'll say it, this unlistenable has been met with such enthusiasm by so many young ears. Have our collective tastes really become so complex and sophisticated? Can we expect to hear "Bluish" at future wedding receptions? I'll say no more on this subject, save for one final question for this Pitchfork-fueled world of sound: Do all these young listeners really like the music on Merriweather, or do they just like how special they feel while listening to the hip album of early 2009?
There have always been albums like this. Obvious ones like Bitches Brew and the abovementioned Remain In Light come to mind - even Radiohead's still recent Kid A. The best thing about this particular eccentric record (I overheard someone describe it as "Pet Sounds playing through a dishwasher") is that you can't tell if the artists behind the music are more so musicians or just dudes with crazy ideas, powerful computers and deep record collections. The sound here is much more produced than played, even prompting some publications to call it an official "electronic" album, rather than the "indie rock" and "experimental rock" tags the band has seen in the past. But don't get confused, this is oddly organic sounding music we're talking about. Futuristic, sure, but still organic.
Everything sounds mushy - almost gooey to the ears. Remember when you were told not to mix your Play-Doh as a kid, but did anyhow? What did you get? Brown Play-Doh, right? Merriweather is just that, brown Play-Doh. The fellas behind the Collective - led by David "Avey Tare" Portner and Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox - mix so many influences, sounds, genres and even production styles on this record that their product proves itself to be more so a clever and unique packaging of ideas than a collection of songs. A very 21st Century record, indeed. As wild and weird as past Animal Collective albums have been, Merriweather is their strangest and most complex release yet that actually works as music (as opposed to experiments-on-record), melting through speakers as an artful progression of the sound 2007's great Strawberry Jam presented.
Buy hey, misplaced love of college freshman everywhere be damned, the Animals make their crazy ideas work in a way that sets new standards for books - rarely has an album this challenging and original seen such widespread comsumption. Held together with hooks, memorable (if usually nonsensical) lyrics and lingering backdrops that utilize pulsing loops and heavily layered production that melts from one idea to another in surprising ways, these tunes will embrace your inner-most art start after enough listens. Like Panda Bear's 2007 hype gatherer, Person Pitch, Merriweather Post Pavilion is a complex cut-and-paste epic that, if given enough time and heard by seasoned ears, should not only sound wholly original, but also be a tolerable - maybe even rewarding - listen. Ground breaking and listenable - that's hard to do these days. Just ask the noise band kids and, well, anyone who has released a high-concept album since OK Computer was born. (Greg Locke)
Free Music Review: Animal Collective's Best
Hit: 5 Stars
At first I was getting skecthy that all reviewers were prasiing this so much so I thought it was just hype atleast that was my thought going in to it so my exceptions weren't that high but boy was I wrong
I have been a AC fan since their debut "Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" (When it was just Avery Tare and Panda Bear)this album is easily Animal Collective's most mainstream album by far you can tell they wanted this to be enjoyed by all because if your an avid AC listener you will know alot of their music is very hard to hear when I first got introduced I skipped so many songs on various CD's because AC is a complicated band and takes more then one listen to see how briliant these guys are
Now to get on to this marvelous CD, I think Panda Bear's Peron Pitch had so much influence on this you can see where they wanted to take some of Panda Bear's Solo sounding music and mix it with the weird/childish Avery Tare their is best CD where these two work so wonderful together, I'm going to pick my 5 stand out tracks but maybe besides one song this CD is amzing
In the Flowers - Beginning track at first you listen and your thinking to yourself is this sounds alot like "PeaceBone" beautoful but still very alike, and then 2:31 hits and BOOOM!!!! what stands out is the percusion by Panda Bear I don't see how this guy is rated as one of the best drummers in the Indie Scene this guy can rock the hell out, And Avery Tare still has his weird sound but as I said you can tell he dropped down a tad bit so everyone can enjoy how much of a genius he is 5/5
My Girls - Avery Tare did the intro awesome but let's get some of that Panda Bear person Pitch a try, Panda Bear is amzing on this track Lyrics are wonderufl sound is beautiful you think it's person pitch then 2:13 the AC comes togetherand actually creates a beat that could bump in your car so awesome!!! 5/5
Daily Routine - Starts out like a brain just being confused/lost atleast that's the vibe I got and then at 0:25 it comes together and these guys just make music no other words can explain this song besides "Music" if you aren't feeling the song it's bound to grab your attention at 0:53 I don't see how anyone could not find that catchy 5/5
Blushish - As another reviewer said this is their cutest song, "I'm getting lost in your curls" What the hell that's not even AC but how good it fits! like Avery Tare is singing this to his wife (Former Mum member)this is the must romantic song on the CD and one of my faves 5/5
I just had to pick two songs for my 5th because I could not choose, first "Lion in a coma" here is good old school AC the only word to describe this catchy poppy song is WEIRD!! but this is AC if you don't like it then you don't like AC Avery Tate is so silly but it had to be Avery Panda Bear could not make this song wonderful like Avery, and Last is the outro "Brothersport" another weird song that just shines from Avery Tare Oh my goodness i could have this song on repeat they are just a tease to end with such a wonderful song hopefully they get some B-Sides because after this you need some more AC Loving!!! 5/5
As I said this is their most mainstream album and I am so glad they made it that way!! I have every Animal Collective CD and even though so many Gem's I skip tracks on every CD, this CD is different I don't skip one song and it just takes you on a journey, if your sketch about picking this up because the reviews don't be for once Critics got it right
Free Music Review: If the Beach Boys rocked at a rave party...
Hit: 5 Stars
It opens with a low fuzz of some monster growl sound, followed by a guitar loop and some lyrics. And then Panda Bear's fast drum beat combines with high-pitched strings, transforming the first song, "In the Flowers," into one hell of a rave song.
With this opening, Animal Collective dives off the deep end with "Merriweather Post Pavilion," an awesome surreal blend of psychedelic rock with rave sounds. Animal Collective has always filled their songs with an amalgam of electronic sounds and samples with psychedelic rock. However, with "Merriweather Post Pavilion," Animal Collective instead combine the psychedelic electronica to create one hell of a mix of keyboard loops, blasting synthesizer sounds and echoing vocals.
This is one amazing album where all the talents of Animal Collective worked cohesively to make an awesome sound. Although I'll miss Deakin's guitars, Avey Tare and the gang really worked hard to make sure that they didn't sound as awful as the Smashing Pumpkins without their drummer. Panda does incredible work to play drums and synthesizer loops, while Avey Tare layers his echoing vocals with his keyboards and the Geologist's electronics.
It all sounds so incredibly beautiful. And this time Panda Bear is helping out a lot more too. In the second track, "My Girls," the Panda sings, "I don't mean to seem like I care about material things like a social status/I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls," his dream sounds so ethereal with fast arpeggiated electronic synthesizers and slamming bass drum sounds. And by the time he shouts "Whoooo!", I was completely immersed in this surreal world of Panda Bear's booming bass drums and Tare's swirling synthesizers.
In the big picture, however, this entire album really captures the beauty of love and hopes for stability, even in this economic depression. In the song "Lion in a Coma," Avey Tare sings "Please don't leave me/things that feel good/I've been lucky trying to feel good." Perhaps the band is anxious about losing everything, especially in this difficult time of economic recession. However, the gorgeous sounds of didgeridoos, Tare's echoing vocals and a Panda's bass drum thumping an African beat makes their hopes for the future sound so wonderful.
It's a little early to make predictions for the best albums of 2009, but this is my hands-down favorite album of the year. It's impossible to resist this swirling mix of surreal hyper rave electronic sounds and psychedelic synthesizers.