Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Benzor
Posts: 886
New Animal Collective Album due out January 20th. Leaked a couple days ago and from what I have heard it is great. "My Girls" is a great song. I'm gonna try to avoid listening to it until the 20th but I'm not sure how that's gonna go. Anyway, I think this has a chance to be the album of 2009. Check it folks.
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this is pretty cool
http://www.myanimalhome.net/
I would say it applies the same, just depends on what music magazines you read. If you're more mainstream, yeah the major mags hyped KoL and MMJ because they have mainstream appeal and they released strong albums rather than folding under the pressure. If you like to read Pitchfork and other wanker snob mags... Animal Collective is the coolest thing since Jesus Christ called a good breeze for his buddies in the desert. Even cooler than the super cool and trendy indie release they said that about last month (Bon Iver, before that, Fleet Foxes, etc ad infinitum).
That works too, but the post I responded to was about unwarranted hype... I was merely pointing out that how warranted the hype is depends on where you get your music news and recommendations from. I thought KoL and MMJ deserved the praise their albums got... I'm all for good bands releasing good music getting a bit more of a push in the mainstream to balance the new Britney Spears album. Maybe their albums were no Sgt Pepper's, but neither are any of the Pitchfork beloved bands I named. Nonetheless, the snobs will rail KoL for making music that more than 100 people can stomach and praise to heaven all those confessional folksy groups because it's the hip trend of the moment and not in danger of being admired by the masses (and thus rendered too uncool for Pitchfork) because it's, quite frankly, kind of boring in large doses.
The race for album of the year is over. I seriously doubt anything's going to beat this. And I really wanted to find flaws in it, I try to be very critical about music but this record is really fantastic.
For those who've heard past AC albums, put all of your opinions about them aside before you listen to this one. They've ditched the bad acid trip craziness of past albums, ditched the songs that are hard on the ears and have unnatural sounding noises, all that Frank Zappa-ish freak out stuff.
The ironic thing about this album is that it will be the one that breaks the band into the mainstream, it will make fans out of people who have despised the band in the past. And the indie hipsters will forsake them completely. Pitchfork will deem them irrelevant. If the boys in Animal Collective truly wanted to stay "indie" and "cool", they wouldn't have released "My Girls" as a single off of the album. That song is just asking for mainstream appeal. And that's what it's bound to get.
No matter. This is the best and most complete album the band has put out by a mile.
This album is very sweeping, very ethereal...somewhat of a concept album with an underwater theme. Think "Meddle"-era Pink Floyd...combined with what can sound like Brian Wilson-like vocals (Panda Bear) at times.
It's really hard to explain until you've heard it, and given it a fair 4-5 spins before judging it. This album is doing to me what "Kid A" did back in 2000, it just gets better and better each listen.
Get a good pair of headphones, do yourself a favor, and spend some time with this one.
i'll have to heed your advice and give it a few more listens. because honestly, after hearing it through once, i don't see how you could possibly be calling this album of the year (aside from the fact that it's only january and no one has really released anything yet). i think i fell asleep in the middle of it.
i havent sat down with the whole thing front to back, yet, but have a heard a few good ones. i hope to get into it before i see them. well stated review.
I guess It all depends on what kind of music blows your hair back...
Personally I think the horn rim freaks at Pitchfork are out of their fucking minds for making this album out out to be "The Queens Undies".
It's a good solid album if nothing else...Not the album of the year...and nothing that's going to change the tides in 2009
The horn rim freaks at Pitchfork do this on a monthly basis... they're always out of their fucking minds.