Animal Collective has always been a study in contrasts. On one hand, there is Noah Lennox, alias Panda Bear, whose similarities to Brian Wilson go past his uncanny vocal impression; he has the same knack for sweet pop and gorgeous simplicity as his forbearer. On the other, there is the brittle, spastic, and astonishingly creative David Pornter, alias Avey Tare, a leaner and much more insecure songwriter than his big fuzzy partner.
As a result, their catalogue is riddled with explosions of hyperactive glee juxtaposed with languid excess, the intentionally bizarre mixed with the amiable and the mundane. They were always melodic, but never accessible. They were always rhythmic, but never danceable.
But on “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” their ninth LP, Animal Collective is a lot less animal and a lot more collective. There is no tortured yowling, no twelve-minute chord-and-a-half hibernations, no nonsensical lyrics or tribal percussion. Instead, there is permeating synthesis between this creative odd couple. Their union has rendered the wild clutter that defined their previous albums unnecessary. “Merriweather” has been melted down to the point where it is defined not by its sounds, but by its songs.
And what songs they are. With Avey’s yelping and Panda’s droning eliminated, this is a sparkling pop album. Everything that Animal Collective has done so well in the past has been shaped and simplified, leaving the end product textured and joyous; the style remains distinct but the tension among the band and the listener has evaporated. The band has also seems to have ended up somewhere closer Panda’s side of the equation, with a several songs sounding like modern remixes of old sixties pop groups. The reverb-soaked “Also Frightened” has all the melodic twists, hazy wordless harmonies and vaguely haunting lyrics (“No one should call you a dreamer”) of The Beatles circa “Magical Mystery Tour,” complete with a slight hint of Indian flavor. “Bluish” has all the sleepy sugar of a slow Beach Boys outtake—check out the hint of Carl Wilson in Avey Tare’s impressively restrained lead vocal—despite its “When you claw me like a cat, I’m beaming” lyrical turn. On some of these songs, Animal Collective outdoes their predecessors completely; “Guys Eyes,” one of the best songs on the album, has a phenomenal vocal arrangement that’s executed with such style that the Beach Boys could only dream of pulling off.
But “Merriweather” hits its true peaks when Animal Collective uses their synergy and newfound contentment to just let go. The absolute best songs on the album feature a deep, intoxicating beat that is right at home even on the modern radio. Avey’s “Summertime Clothes,” his best song on the album, features handclaps, jubilant sliding vocals, thumping bass drums and an African-style bridge, all combined with remarkable ease and simplicity. The chorus of “I want to walk around with you” becomes something irresistible. The album’s closer, Panda’s superb Euro-Afro-techno-who-cares rave “Brother Sport,” has enough hooks to snag even the biggest dance floor deadweight (certainly enough of them are already Animal Collective fans).
And then there is “My Girls.” Already hailed by some as one of the best songs of the millennium, “My Girls” is an idyllic portrait of the American family, with Panda Bear singing with his trademark unpretentious poetry about his need to provide for his wife and daughter: “I don’t mean/ to seem like I care about material things,/like my social status/I just want/four walls and adobe slabs for my girls.” Its shimmery introduction transitions into its simple melody, then builds as Avey starts singing counter to Panda, then doubles the tempo, then launches into a blissful call-and-response bridge showered with stunning sun-drenched harmonies that Panda used so effectively on his 2007 solo effort Person Pitch. The hook that carries the song out is as blissful and simple as anything Animal Collective has written, and it deserves to be an instant classic. When Animal Collective’s songwriters show they are capable of writing like this, their comparative missteps—the tepid “No More Runnin’” and the mundane, appropriately titled “Daily Routine”—are immaterial. They’ve gotten too good to let those mistakes define them anymore.
With Merriweather Post Pavilion charting #3 on the top-selling albums on iTunes, Animal Collective has a genuine hit on their hands. And I want more, no matter how strange it is. As Avey Tare puts it in “Lion in a Coma,” “This wilderness needs to get out of my clothes and get into my bedroom!” Whatever he's talking about, he's right.
-Radelby
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