Merriweather Post Pavilion starts with the sound of a sink emptying into a parallel universe. This is quickly followed by an ominous muttering before itself being replaced by a delicate melody overlaid with haunting underwater vocals. Then with a wistful cry of ‘If I could just leave my body for a night’ the sound explodes and transports the listener into some sort of thumping circus-themed disco. Such is the surreal journey that Animal Collective’s music takes you on.
This is their ninth album and the band can hardly be accused of sticking to any formula – and if they are it’s a formula that if injected would cause multiple limb sprouting and technicolour vomiting….Their sound is impossible to pin down ranging wildly from psych to disco to folk to noise to wonderfully weird pop songs. On this release they’ve convolved all those disparate styles into a pulsating, often perplexing and frequently mesmerising piece of art.
The very things that make the band so enthralling to some and a complete anathema to others are all in abundance here. ‘Lion In A Coma’s rhythm section consists partly of a repeated didgeridoo sample, ‘Daily Routine’ features a noodling electric harpsichord and heavily treated vocals are used throughout as well as all manner of computer generated sonic squiggles.
What’s remarkable is how organic all these synthetic sounds seem, all warping and forming from and around each other. The band have said that with this album they’ve ‘tried to make music that would be deserving of an amazing outdoor listening experience’ and it’s impossible to deny the aural interplay between their words and melodies would sound completely at home in the midst of nature.
Cut through the many layers of sound Avery Tare and Panda Bear’s personal and provocative lyrics often a powerful counterbalance to the possibly alienating experimentalism. The airy, swaying, oddly 70s-sounding ‘Bluish’ features lines such as ‘I’m getting lost in your curls’ and the enchantingly playful ‘Summertime Clothes’ uses the refrain of ‘And I want to walk around with you/just you/just you/ just you.’ Deceptively simple and yet instantly evocative, they have the uncanny ability to get firmly lodged in your head and reappear days later resulting in involuntary public outbursts of crazed singing.
For all the subtle intertwining across the album that makes this seem like a unified and satisfying whole, there are undeniable standouts. The shimmering, propulsive trance of ‘My Girls’ is five-and-a-half minutes of perfection – easily one of the best things the band has done. Panda Bear’s distinctive sound, demonstrated to winning effect on last year’s solo effort ‘Person Pitch’ is all over the record and is distilled in this song. Catchy melody, thoroughly danceable rhythm and endearingly emphatic repeated lyrical phrases – ‘I just want four walls and adobe slabs/for my girls’ – combine to create a listening experience worthy of many rotations.
Not to overlook Avey Tare’s inimitable contribution to the album, but Panda Bear also nabs the other highlight with the tribal, carnivalesque closer ‘Brothersport’ commanding the listener to ‘open up your/open up your/open up your throats.’ It’s hard not to.
It is easy to lose perspective though. For all the moments of euphoria the listener often has to trudge through a couple minutes of fairly uninteresting meandering and the album could easily have done without the plunking, plodding ‘No More Runnin’ which just needlessly lengthens the wait to the ecstatic final track. Also there’s a distinct lack of the bouncy, messed up freak-folk pop songs to be found on earlier albums such as ‘Did You See The Words’ off ‘Feels’ or even ‘Who Could Win A Rabbit’ from 2004’s ‘Sung Tongs’.
Animal Collective aren’t for everyone and their releases always require many, many listens to truly appreciate and discover the many facets of each song; and this album is no different. Much as some people seem to be suggesting, this is not their most accessible offering to date but with the critical acclaim whirlwind ‘Merriweather’ is blowing up it may very well end up being their most successful, which I’m sure will neither matter to the band nor affect the unique way they make their music.
Some are saying this is already the album of the year; let’s just give everyone else a chance to take their breath shall we. It’s breathtaking sure, but not perfect.
4 stars
