Animal Collective Live

On Thursday night I had the wonderful privilege of seeing Animal Collective perform live at the House of Blues in Boston. The concert only increased my awe and respect for the members of the collective, and solidified their status as my favorite band of all time. Following the more quiet, reverb-loving noise folk act Grouper (who also sounded pretty cool), Avey, Panda, and Geologist took to the stage with high energy and churned out track after track of danceable animal grooves. The band played continuously for about an hour and a half, rarely speaking but instead shouting random noises into the microphones and playing with the electronic equipment. They only stopped to take a brief break before the encore, to say "thank you" to everyone for coming, and to exclaim "that one was wild" after the audience got a bit too rowdy during "Slippi."

The stage was set up like a DJ dance/disco hall, with a giant floating orb projecting various images and videos while strobe lights flashed and rainbows erupted in time with the beats. The MPP album cover was draped across the back like a flag, and all the flashing lights served to enhance the optical illusion. There was also a drum set behind Panda's sound board, though it remained unused much to my dismay and was probably there just as a back-up.

The AC fans in the audience went wild during the more upbeat songs: people crowd-surfed, moshed, bounced up and down, and knocked into each other repeatedly as the pulsing rhythms filled the venue. I wasn't expecting anything like a dance party when I first got to the concert, but found it was really fun to lose myself in the movements of everyone around me. Clouds of smoke also erupted as various people lit up during the more trance-like parts of the concert, though some were asked to leave by security (not cool.)

Here's the set list (I tried to recreate the exact order, but some things may be mixed up):

Concert:
1. "What Would I Want Sky"
2. "Summertime Clothes"
3. "Guys Eyes"
4. "#1"
5. "Slippi"
6. "Who Could Win A Rabbit?"
7. "Fireworks Essplode"
8. "Bleed"
9. "Comfy In Nautica"
10. "Brother Sport"

Encore:
11. "Chocolate Girl"
12. "My Girls"
13. "Leaf House"

Click on the links to download mp3s of the new songs or see video clips I took of my favorite parts of the concert. (The videos for "Slippi," "My Girls," and "Summertime Clothes" were taken and posted by someone else.)

"What Would I Want Sky" is an awesome new post-MPP song that sounds warm, sunny, and a bit repetitive. "Bleed" is also new, though it might've gone unnoticed by many as it sounds similar to the sonic experimentation between songs. "Fireworks Essplode" is a medley where verses from "Lablakely Dress" and "Essplode" (from Danse Manatee) were inserted between the parts of "Fireworks" from Strawberry Jam. The tunes from older albums were also given new mixes, almost as if the band were updating its catalogue to fit in more with the new material. "Slippi," "Chocolate Girl," "Who Could Win A Rabbit?" and "Leaf House" were all set to a different backdrop of dance beats and electronic samples provided by Geologist and Panda, sounding as if they were part of Merriweather Post Pavilion. Another cool treat was the performance of Panda Bear's "Comfy In Nautica," which none of us were really expecting but went over really well. Though I was pleased to here all of the aforementioned, my favorite was definitely "#1," which sounded even stranger and more bizarrely ritualistic when coupled with the swirling onstage images and the hypnotic ambience that fell over the crowd. I would've liked to hear "Safer," "Daily Routine," or anything from Feels, which was conspicuously absent, but I guess that's what live albums are for and I really can't complain. Check out the audio streams of their other concerts (just search on Stereogum) to hear more.

The bottom line is, if Animal Collective ever comes near you while on tour, GO SEE THEM! I guarantee that you'll have a good time. Also, check out the video clips I took during the concert to get more of a feel for what it was like. Below is my video of one of the new songs:

Merriweather Post Pavilion

OK, so I think I've finally listened to Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion enough times to give it a fair review. It took some getting used to, probably because Animal Collective completely changes their sound with each new album release with almost no warning except for the occasional warm-up EP like People or Water Curses. This album is no exception, though it's perhaps less of a leap than Strawberry Jam was from Feels or Sung Tongs was from Here Comes The Indian. However, there are also many similar elements from old albums on MPP, whether it be the lyrics and vocal stylings of Feels, the crazed electronics and repetition of Strawberry Jam, or the vocal manipulations of Sung Tongs. Thus, Merriweather Post Pavilion has something for fans of each album.
At the same time, though, the album seems to lack something that the others have. Perhaps it's because it's so overproduced, or maybe it's because it feels overly dense with all the layers of electronic instruments. In whichever case, it's missing the earthy, human qualities of earlier Animal Collective releases. AC explain that they named the album after childhood memories of hearing music outside at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, but to me none of these songs evoke feelings of being outside in the sunlight. Instead they seem dark and synthetic, like a colored light show in a dance club or something. I must applaud the vocal performances, though: never before have Avey Tare and Panda Bear sounded so good together. Their voices seem to float around each other and occasionally collide for some really exciting moments. Panda Bear especially outdoes himself on his songs, while Avey Tare sees to have reverted to the soft, semi-demonic voice he used back on Feels, and though this isn't necessarily a bad thing I kind of miss the raw emotion of his screaming throughout the insane asylum of Strawberry Jam. The album as a whole, while somewhat poppy, still sounds distinctly Animal Collective, so I applaud them yet again for managing to make completely different music that is still true to their style.

Another problem I have with MPP is that it doesn't feel at all like a cohesive whole. The cover art, while really cool, doesn't really match up with the music like their album art has in the past, and the songs don't really flow in a way that makes sense to me. It feels more like a compilation album, and it's sort of disappointing because we all know AC is capable of piecing together some stellar works. The songs, however, are fantastic and some of my favorites from all of their discography, and, if it's possible, I feel like I love the songs but hate the album.

Since it is more of a collection of songs than an album, I thought it would be more appropriate to review each track individually. "In The Flowers" is the opener and also one of my favorites, especially during the bridge when all of the instruments come in. It's vintage Animal Collective, and it's a great way to start the album. "My Girls" is more electronic and less typical, but this one works amazingly. Panda Bear's vocals really shine, and Avey Tare's backups work better than ever. The song is catchy and the lyrics are really endearing: he sings about how all he wants is a house for his family. "Also Frightened" is another track like "In The Flowers," but it doesn't have as good of a build-up as the first. It's still a nice song, though. "Summertime Clothes" is another really catchy tune that definitely sounds more poppy than most of Animal Collective's music, but I forgive them since it's so fun to sing along.

The best track on the album is definitely "Daily Routine," which features another stunning vocal performance from Panda Bear. He floats around some heavy organ electronics, similar to those on "#1," until eventually the whole song dissolves into a beautiful piece of layered music and extended vocals that closely resembles the latter part of "Chores." Again, Panda Bear sings about his daughter and his home life, though it's not so easy to decipher any precise meaning. The next track, however, is where things start to get iffy. "Bluish" is a sappy/cute love song that hearkens back to those on Feels, and it's pretty good overall. I don't mind the lyrics, but there's one musical part that makes me sort of cringe (right before the chorus) because it sounds so cheesy and fake. I do like the overarching synth melody in the background, though.

"Guys Eyes" is a complete mess, and I think the album would've been much better without it. Here they push the vocal layering way over the limit, and it just sounds like a jumbled mess of words with no clear melody to follow. What really gets me the worst is in the middle of the song when they apply the tried-and-true trick of repeating the same line ("need her") over and over: it angers me to think they can get away with making a bad song just by putting one of their classic techniques to use. The next track, "Taste," is really only good by default, though it does have an interesting Fiery Furnaces' Blueberry Boat-like granular synthesis pattern going on in the background. It sort of resembles "Unsolved Mysteries" but just isn't as good. Fortunately, the bouncy and somewhat silly "Lion In A Coma" takes a similar formula and uses it to save the latter half of the record. The vocal distortions sound similar to tracks at the end of Sung Tongs while the overall style is very Strawberry Jam, and I love it. "No More Runnin" is just a generic "pretty" track, which is disappointing because it's the closest thing to a ballad song on MPP and Animal Collective ballads are usually so epic and beautiful (see "Safer" and "Banshee Beat.")

Finally comes "Brothersport," a song encouraging Noah Lennox's brother Matt to speak (or sing) out, though the lyrics are again hard to decipher. I really wish I hadn't downloaded the leaked version of this song (I've learned my lesson), because now I don't think it'll ever feel like a legitimate part of the album and will always just seem like a bonus track. But, then again, the whole album seems like 11 consecutive bonus tracks, so I don't really know. The bottom line is that, even though some aspects of Merriweather Post Pavilion disappoint, some of the songs are fantastic and rank among the band's best. It just isn't a Strawberry Jam or a Feels.

More Looking Forward

Really quickly, here's some more stuff I just found to get excited about: (I told you 2009 would be good!)

1. The Crying Light, Antony & The Johnsons' follow-up to the acclaimed I Am A Bird Now, is coming out on January 21st.

2. Noble Beast by Andrew Bird is due the same day, though I've already heard it and wasn't that impressed, except for the incredible track "Anonanimal."

3. Blood Bank, an EP by Bon Iver, is a "warm" response to the "cold" of debut album For Emma, Forever Ago from last January. It, too, will be released on the 21st.

4. Heartland, a new album from Owen Pallett's Final Fantasy pseudonym, will be finished and released in early 2009.

5. Apparently last year Panda Bear said he was working on a follow-up to Person Pitch. Though he didn't give any information about a release date, both he and Avey Tare are known for churning out lots of awesome music in a short amount of time (Person Pitch came out only months before Strawberry Jam, and both were incredible.)

That's it for now. If you have anything else you're excited about, leave a comment!