I'll Jam your Strawberries!

Hah ok no more with these titles I promise, now onto the music. This fall we will see the return of two great bands, Animal Collective and Sunset Rubdown, whose respective albums really push the norms of musical composition. This post will deal only with the first band. Animal Collective is an odd beast. These boys, whose first two albums Sung Tongs and Feels, really fucked my mind up musically have done it again. However, unlike the first two acoustic adventures this third one explores an electrified version of their sound. Like Bob Dylan plugging in, AC is venturing forward from their beginnings. There are two songs that truly standout to me so far. The first is For Reverend Green. The opening itself is beautiful enough to sell your heart out. Then comes in those lyrics. Fucking Panda Bear and Avery. These two are caught between insanity and genius. It must be a thin line because they bounce back and forth so much the effect is dizzying.


May I also go out and just say that Panda Bear is our Brian Wilson. Don't question, just think about the layering, the harmonizing, the use of vocal instrumentation. Listen to Smile...fuck listen to Heroes and Villains. Its all there. The footprints are everywhere. If you are still in doubt listen to Peace Bone. I don't know if anyone has ever heard of Mektone, but he is a random Dj who uses NES music format to compose. It is this 80's video game ringing that Peace Bone opens up with. Just like Heroes and Villains, there is a carnival atmosphere to this skewed song and to the album as a whole. One thing I've enjoyed by AC (and Beach Boys too) are the melody and rhythm breaks. Starting with one composition they interchange back and forth with sudden departures. This is overt on both of the songs and one other. The song Chores is another tripped out Beach Boys style piece...I wasn't going to post but hell enjoy...I know you will.

AC - For Reverend Green
AC - Peace Bone
AC -Chores