Animal Collective

[Tim-Æ]

Okay before anyone freaks out, no, I have NOT lost my mind. I know my musical tastes are snobbish and very stubborn, but in a sea of repetitious horseshit, its hard to find the stuff that really stands out as being unique. This is coming from the man who 4 years ago believed that Tool were the most creative band around. Well, that's slowly starting to slip, as I'm starting to realize that there are way more interesting and creative bands out there, that can blow Tool out of the water.

Case in point: Animal Collective. Three men. One sound. You've never heard music like this. My tastes may fall further outside of the spectrum then you may typically venture, but honestly folks, this music is incredible. I've heard that to see this band live, much like Deerhunter, is a life changing experience b/c of how intense and how mood setting it is.

That being said, lets move on to the  band itself. As I said, three members, and they boast powerful knowledge of music. Something usually unheard of. You take any of the rockers that are in the top 40, ask them to name a band outside of their genre, and they'll stare at you blankly. These guys gather so many influences and all they do is pump out some of the most gorgeous music I've ever heard. The most prolific of the three is Panda Bear, seeing as how he has contributed to the music scene in a solo aspect as well (his 2007 album Person Pitch landed on several top ten lists and even won the useless award of Pitchforks number one album of the year). Avey Tare seems to be the mastermind behind this project, and for the last 8 years this band has churned out more solid records than any other artist out there. on the indie scene they are considered the culminating band, a band that once you really take the time to listen to them, you are instantly hooked. A lot of music these days you can just turn on and forget about. There's no lasting appeal. The records you may spend some good money on usually get tossed a few years later, into the pile with Bon Jovi, Breaking Benjamin, and Weird Al Yankovic tapes. there's just simply no meat to mainstream music these days, and so its refreshing to delve past what your served so elegantly on a platter, and find the really juicy music that isn't just manufactured somewhere.

And so we round this out with a band you will surely pass off after listening to it for 30 seconds. The difference between Animal Collective and say...Vampire Weekend (note: I am a VW fan), is that everything that Vampire Weekend offers is heard 30 seconds into the first song. There's nothing else to be heard on the record that is different or experimental. It's a shame but its true. If you were to pop in Feels by Animal Collective, no two tracks sound the same, and its not because they need to be different, it's that naturally the music is woven differently to them. Never ones to break into the main stream (to date, not a single charting single that I'm aware of) they are the pinnacle of independent music b/c every band wishes they could be them, and if you haven't heard them yet, it's an experience you truly need to take in.

Their new record Merriweather Post Pavilion was released on vinyl this week, and the CD will be in two weeks (for the US, the UK gets it next week I believe) but its already leaked (by the  band), for your listening pleasure. I'll give a full review once I've digested it more, I'm exploring their back catalog currently and am thoroughly enjoying it.  You will not find another band like this. Anywhere. Now, of course there won't be anything rewarding for those of you prone to heavy metal or rap, but if you are into alternative rock, indie, avant-garde rock, and even ambient music - this is the place to start. I'd recommend starting with their newest record as that appears to be the most accessible, but I just finished listening to Feels and I love it. As I said, a review for their newest album will be forthcoming as soon as I've digested it entirely.