The dream carries on with the release of Merriweather Post Pavilion; probably very early in 2009. It’s a bit tough decision in fact, putting on your record this early. There are various threats. Most recognizably the critics might forget how enthusiastic they were about your work in late December. But a prolific vibrant album stays just as lively and fresh I suppose.
Merriweather Post Pavilion sees Animal Collective on their less experimental and more coherent stage of existence. Unlike Feels’ melancholic wilderness and Strawberry Jam’s fast hopping around, here we are dealing with what the band has aced so far. Well, at least a member of the band we can say. Panda Bear made many lists back in 2007 for a completely different sophomore called Person Pitch. That might have given the right impression for the whole band to come up with a dream-like massively-psychedelic texture of which we hear on Merriweather all along. But instead, if Person Pitch was a child’s dream, this one is an adult’s.
Listen | Animal Collective "Brothersport"
Now let me make it clear that unfortunately or whatever you may call it, I was not blown away by this album. In fact I was never blown away by any other Animal Collective work. But then I see their tremendous skill on putting the listener on an underwater merry-go-round and driving him/her insane and leaving them mesmerized by a colorful collage of sonic storms. That’s not something any experimental psych-pop band could do. Animal Collective has prepared the recipe and cooked the meal the way they should, apparently. They still have not let go of their Beach Boys inspirations, their winning cards and they keep the circle twirling around the Pet Sounds shangri-la, only with their own direction and condiments. This album is hugely critic-friendly and will be most likely to receive 2-props and 5-stars and such practically reasonable trophies of which a quality indie band such as Animal Collective surely deserves.
