Animal Collective "Merriweather Post Pavillian" (2009)

I read a review once that said Animal Collective sound like what would've happened if the Beach Boys had hopped on the Magical Mystery Tour and they all just kept going and never came back. Which should totally be my shit. Oh, let me preface this review by admitting something that could get my blog privileges taken away - I've never really paid attention to AC. I've heard songs, liked some, disliked others, but never jumped on the hype. Never listened to one of their records. So yes - Magical Mystery Beach sounds great to me, which is exactly why I've been wrestling so much with gathering a feeling and writing a review for this record.

My experience has gone like this, first listen - not feeling it. Second listen - I can hear some songs I like. Next listen - not feeling it & can't find the songs I thought I liked. Next listen - this is really awesome. Yet another listen - I can appreciate this, but can't enjoy it. And again I'm listening to it while I type this and think I'm enjoying a lot of the things I planned on writing that I dislike about Merriweather Post Pavilion.

What I wanted to write about is how weird for weird sake this record is. How inhuman it sounds. How it's a full LP without any songs on it. Maybe I'm being unclear with that - there aren't any songs on here that I want to listen to over and over again. In fact when I listen to this, I listen to it from start to finish each time. Sure, I break from it to get in and out of my car or whatever, but when I put it on I'm not going to "Summertime Clothes" or "My Girls". Just start it at track 1, and push through. And in this listeners opinion, it's a better LP than it's songs are as just songs.

At time I feel this record is like a living, breathing, growing, shapeshifting organism. I'm telling you it will change on you. There's no way to describe it's focus because it just isn't there, except that it's a pop record. The music rarely builds, but rather bursts. It's not chocolate melting in your mouth, its pop rocks mixed with Cherry Coke going bonkers. Synth sounds come from here, percussion falls from the ceiling, bells in the background, all of it layered thick under harmonized vocals that pave the way. Nothing sounds out of place, in fact there's not a second of this record that sounds like it was wasted with space that couldn't fit a sound. But at the same time it sounds out-of-place. I don't know how anyone could listen to this and say there aren't parts where there is just too much going on. Details get lost in the big picture, and I think there are even portions when the big picture gets lost in the details. Perhaps that's the magic of it.

I'm still not completely sold on Animal Collective or Merriweather Post Pavilion, but there was a time a few weeks ago where I thought one listen was enough. I'm not sure what led to a second listen, but that led to a third and a fourth. I guess this is a grower for me, which is frustrating because I want it to burst in my ears like it has for the billion other bloggers who have written about this record. And I can completely understand why people fall for this band. They're music is interesting, mysterious, ambitious, 'smart-sounding', organic but inhuman, new but classic - guess I'm just falling in slow-motion. Present in the comments. Video for "My Girls" below. Purchase from Domino Records.