Why You Should Listen to Animal Collective

I hope to post a comprehensive review of Animal Collective’s massive new LP, Merriweather Post Pavilion, in the coming week, but in the meanwhile I’d like to take a moment to urge everyone reading this to bring this band into your lives. In 1984, the Minutemen opened “History Lesson, Pt. II” with the timeless line, “Our band could be your life.” Few bands can ever hope to achieve the level of greatness needed to become someone’s everything. Over the past decade, Animal Collective has produced an oeuvre that is as diverse, exciting, challenging, and consistent as that of any band during the same period. And yes, that includes Radiohead. Begin with 1999’s Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished, where gentle vocals melt beneath grating high frequencies, and move forward to Here Comes the Indian, where tribal meanderings replace coherent song structures. Then AC gave us progressively poppier efforts, from the organic Sung Tongs to the electronically influenced Strawberry Jam, to 2009’s magnum opus, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Their latest release isn’t even one month old, and the group has already dropped a terrific song that’s nothing like anything they tracked for MPP. “What Would I Want Sky” is a seven-minute electronic piece with sampled vocals that makes a case for its being classed as house music. Not to be outdone by their works as a collective, member Avey Tare has recorded a project made jointly with his wife that the pair released backwards, and member Panda Bear released one of the decade’s best albums with 2007’s Person Pitch. The latter release is one of the most soulfully melodic long players you’re likely to ever hear. The band is always experimenting with every possible aspect of recording, making use of didgeridoos and what sounds like beat boxing on MPP. Beat boxing? I’ll listen to anyone who still beat boxes in 2009. I’d recommend that you do the same.