Animal Collective even more accessible in new release

Their new album will appeal to veterans and beginners alike.

By Tom Carbone

Published Jan. 22, 2009

In 2007, Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) saw his solo project at the top of many music critics' end-of-year lists for best album. The sophomore effort, Person Pitch, garnered an unprecedented amount of hype from the likes of Pitchfork Media and The New York Times. But the project Panda is most known for is his collaboration with Avey Tare (David Portner) in a group called Animal Collective.

Steadily releasing albums and touring throughout the decade, they began 2009 with an early album-of-the-year contender entitled Merriweather Post Pavillion, named after a music venue in Columbia, Md. This release is possibly their most accessible album to date and a few listens will prove that to any Animal Collective veteran listener. New listeners will also enjoy the strange nature of Animal Collective's unique recording-style harmonies and catchy one-liners, all prevalent staples on Merriweather.

After their critically acclaimed Strawberry Jam hit the shelves last year, there was a lot of anticipation for a follow-up to what some claimed was the band's best. An eerie update on their Web site in October alluded to a new album in January, and little pieces of evidence slowly trickled onto the site, including an apparent album title and track list.

Following these cryptic updates, a few listening parties were held in New York and Europe. Message boards, blogs and other Web sites built huge anticipation for the album's release, and, finally, Merriweather leaked onto the Internet on Dec. 25, just 12 days short of its scheduled vinyl release in the U.S. "In Flowers" starts the album with a muddy and texturized build-up, eventually leading up to a break in the song following the line sung by Tare: "If I could just leave my body for a night." The track turns wild and uses a seemingly endless list of instruments and sets the tone for the remainder of the record.

The following track, "My Girls," is arguably has the record's most pop hooks, beginning with a glittering synthesizer and glowing vocal patterns to which both Tare and Panda contribute. "I don't mean to seem like I care about material things like my social status," they exclaim repeatedly throughout the track, a Beach Boys-esque chant that marks the chorus of the song.

There is no filler on Merriweather. Every song seems well thought out and not rushed in the slightest.The two final tracks, "No More Runnin'" and "Brother Sport," are clear examples of this. The former is a dreamy noise ballad that perfectly captures everything Animal Collective has done up until this point. It's slow, it's trippy and has perfectly harmonized vocals.

"Brother Sport" leaked in late October by a French music blog, and as a result, most die-hard fans heard the track before it seemingly vanished from the Internet. This amazing track finishes out the record exactly how it started -- full of energy and performed by a more-poppy-than-ever-before Animal Collective. A lot of analysis by critics and fans will be floating around the Internet, but do yourself a favor and just have fun with the record before forming any opinions.