I just had to take some time and mention Animal Collective’s most recent album: Merriweather Post Pavillion. I’ve been listening to Animal Collective for probably 5 years now, and they are one of the few bands that consistently deliver some mind-blowing sounds. My first encounter with Animal Collective was on their fantastic Sung Tongs. It was a difficult listen for me at first, and I was close to dismissing it as another high-minded-audiophile only album. However, I soon recognized what the fuss was about and have been greatly enjoying Animal Collective ever since. If you haven’t yet heard any of their stuff, go pick up Sung Tongs, Feels, Strawberry Jam, or Merriweather Post Pavillion.
Merriweather Post Pavillion is very maturely executed, pulling together ideas and sounds from many of their previous albums. Its not as challenging a listen as Sung Tongs, but still presents some staggering and beautifully constructed songs that aren’t confined to your standard verse-chorus fair. I heard a fellow Tweep describe the song structure and sweeping transitions of “In the Flowers” and “My Girls” as ‘pure elation.’ I couldn’t agree more.
The album was highly anticipated and turned out to be pretty huge critical success. Check out in-depth reviews and thoughts on it at Pitchfork and Allmusic.com. Give them a listen, and follow me here or on twitter for more of my thoughts on music (and other stuff.)
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Hello. I think the article is really interesting. I am even interested in reading more. How soon will you update your blog?
Thanks. I’m trying to figure out what direction to go with my blog. It has been a bit stagnant as of late because I can’t quite find my niche.