Review: Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP (* * * *)

(This one got GOLD over at In Review Online)

Heaping praise on indie superstars Animal Collective is starting to seem too easy, unnecessary even. Don’t get me wrong; AC have earned their status as the preeminent boundary-pushing experimental group working today. This past year alone they released 2009’s best album and my personal favorite of theirs, Merriweather Post Pavilion. But the announcement of their Fall Be Kind EP almost prompted me to just say, “It’s Animal Collective, of course it’s amazing." Listen to it, love it, and then we’ll all move on. And if Fall Be Kind was just “good,” or even great in exactly the same way the LP that preceded it was great, maybe I could settle with that generalization. But in keeping with tradition, Animal Collective has crafted another distinctly superb and somehow progressive set of songs, noteworthy for its own merits and not simply as another strong addition to the band’s remarkable catalog. (Read the full review @ In Review Online)

@In Review Online: Top 25 Songs of 2009

Well, this is a little late in coming, but it's certainly worth a look. We've just posted our collective "best songs of the year" post over at In Review Online, and there's a little of everything on there. I contributed to the list, but it's very different than my "songs" list would have been (had I submitted one), which is a good thing.

Read the full thing HERE.

Here are the songs I included:

Dirty Projectors - "Stillness is the Move"

Animal Collective - "Brother Sport"

Miranda Lambert - "Airstream Song"

Bill Callahan - "Jim Cain"

Sunset Rubdown - "Idiot Heart"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Skeletons"

Harlem Shakes - "Strictly Game"

Tiny Vipers - "Dreamer"

Best of 2009: 10 - 1

The best of the best albums released this year in my humble by usually correct opinion:

(Previous)

10: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Veckatimest is the second great album by Grizzly Bear and - in some ways - a more ambitious work than its predecessor (though it's difficult to say which is really better). With its detailed arrangements, mind-blowing vocal harmony and just exceptional songwriting, Veckatimest is a truly accomplished album.

MySpace


9: Wildbirds & Peacedrums - The Snake

There's a certain primal element to the music of husband and wife duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums that isn't capture often in music. Their limited palette of drums and vocals (mostly) is striking, and somehow never feels lacking or bare on The Snake, which is a uniquely fantastic record. (More from me)

There Is No Light (MP3)

MySpace


8: Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

Dragonslayer is Sunset Rubdown's most epic statement yet, an indie rock album made in the fashion of late 80s metal records - eight songs totaling 48 minutes of grandiosity and excess. Yet somehow it doesn't seem too over-the-top or dramatic, it's just a thoroughly compelling experience. (More from me)

Idiot Heart (MP3 via Pitchfork)

Homepage


7: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz

A divisive record among fans of the band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz is, to me, their most accomplished record yet, despite the very different approach used here. Instead of jagged guitar lines and yelping, we mostly get a mixture of synths and beautiful melodies - I'll take it. (More from me)

MySpace


6: Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Another band that broke out in a big way this year is Dirty Projectors, who had previously existed more on the fringe before vaulting themselves into the indie spotlight with tunes like "Stillness is the Move." Bitte Orca finds just the right balance between the group's avant-garde style and pop accessibility.

Solange Knowles' cover of "Stillness is the Move" (via Stereogum)

MySpace


5: P.O.S. - Never Better

Stefon Alexander (P.O.S.) hasn't really made a rap-rock album with Never Better, he just bleeds a punk attitude into his stellar rhymes and organic beats. He's ferocious yet positive, abrasive yet approachable, disgusted at the current state of affairs but hopeful for a better future. Simply amazing. (More from me)

MySpace


4: St. Vincent - Actor

Annie Clark, a former Polyphonic Spree member, has made serious headway with her sophomore solo effort, Actor. The arrangements are strange, but entrancing, and her lovely voice adds a layer of mystique to the music that begs for repeated and careful listens. It's a wholly absorbing and beautiful album. (More from me)

MySpace


3: The Antlers - Hospice

I just kept coming back to Hospice, the latest from indie newcomers The Antlers, coming away each time feeling more affected by the experience than the last. From the opening wash of "Prologue" to the echoed refrain of "Epilogue," it is a haunting and emotionally rich listen unlike any other.

MySpace


2: DM Stith - Heavy Ghost

It's difficult for me to overstate how much I love this album. DM Stith's debut, Heavy Ghost, sounds like nothing I've heard before. It's dark and moody, yet expressive and full of life - and full of remarkable musicianship from a guy I hope to hear much more from in the future. (More from me)

Pity Dance (MP3 via Asthmatic Kitty, upper right corner)

Homepage


1: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

I'm kinda tired of writing about Animal Collective, but they deserve all the praise they've received for this truly special album and their great EP, Fall Be Kind, which came out late this year. Released in January, the LP remains the best of this year and one of my favorite of the decade. (More from me)
MySpace

(Previous)

Worth Hearing: January 20, 2009

Here's a list of some of the notable and worthwhile albums being released this week and some links to where you can get a listen:


A.C. Newman: Get Guilty - MySpace page - I've only heard a few tracks from this album, but if those were any indication, it's great.

Andrew Bird: Noble Beast - listen to the album at NPR (My Review) - An amazing record from one of indie's most consistent artists.

Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion - listen to the album at NPR (My Review) - Absolutely fantastic, a must-hear!

Antony and the Johnsons: The Crying Light - listen to the album at Spinner - A strangely beautiful listen.

Bon Iver : Blood Bank EP - listen to the EP on their MySpace page - A nice four-song set for a follow-up to last year's stellar debut.

Review: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (* * * * *)

You've probably been able to form your own opinions about Animal Collective's soon-to-be-released Merriweather Post Pavilion as the album leaked several weeks ago. But, for those of you who haven't heard it yet or who look to me for musical guidance and leadership (right...), let me sum the album up right here with a few adjectives; stunning, captivating, essential. Seriously, if you haven't yet, the time to buy into the hype is now. "Merriweather" is an album worth hearing not just because you'll feel out of the loop if you don't, but because you would be missing out on something truly remarkable.

Although not a radical departure from their previous efforts, "Merriweather" has a smoother, more polished feel than even 2007's Strawberry Jam. Less yelling and screaming - more melody and breathtaking vocal harmony, fewer jarring stylistic shifts - more subtle and expansive transitions. I don't mean to make it sound as if the band have stopped innovating, the record still includes plenty of trippy, odd pop moments fans will love (like the Tigger-esque bouncing bass on "Lion in a Coma"); Animal Collective just sound more purposeful and direct this time around. This is also the most engaging and approachable the group have ever sounded, creating a collection of themes and sounds that is much more often inviting than it is alienating.

Album opener, "In the Flowers," has a droning, ambient intro before exploding into a joyous, upbeat celebration with Avey Tare singing lines like "we could be dancing and you'd smile and say 'I love this song'" over scattered percussion and chirping electronics. It's one of many smile-inducing, dance-inspiring moments. Following is another highlight, "My Girls," an explosion of harmony, arpeggio synths, and tribal percussion combined in one of the album's most immediately enjoyable tunes. "Summertime Clothes" and especially "Brothersport," with Panda Bear's arena-sized chanted chorus provide additional instant pop-oriented gratification.

While the more anthematic tracks will likely receive the most attention, "Merriweather" should be recognized for some of its more subtly fantastic moments as well. The gentle, shimmering "Bluish" and the perfectly restrained "No More Runnin" give the album much-needed variety but are also great songs independently, showing Animal Collective's more (for lack of a better word) sensitive side. Elsewhere, "Guys Eyes" builds slowly, adding layer upon layer of vocals and percussion in a psychedelic wall of sound while "Daily Routine" shifts gears from an off-beat electro-pop song into a simple, sonic vocal feature by Avey Tare. I could go on, but I'm running out of tracks. Simply put, it's all great.

I realize I'm only helping to hype an already uber-hyped album, but when it's as good as Merriweather Post Pavilion is (which is to say, spectacular), I can't help but go with the flow. Do yourself a favor and give this one a shot, because this is the kind of groundbreaking, genre-shattering, musical revelation that should be experienced.