Album Review: Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion

This new found accessibility might lead people to believe that the band actually has designs on large fanbase growth. Forgive me for finding this hard to believe of three men who take press photos in animal masks and covered in paint (or condiments), but one certainly could make that point. The tight harmonies that singer/keyboardist/guitarist Avey Tare (nee David Portner) and singer/percussionist Panda Bear (nee Noah Lennox) exhibit in "Almost Frightened" sound only a hair off of the Staley/Cantrell harmonies of the early '90s. "Bluish", featuring hushed vocals by Avey Tare, is probably the most straightforward love song the band has ever released. The controversially leaked and highly danceable "Brother Sport" is begging to be mixed by a thousand DJs. Furthermore, the minute in the middle of the song of electronic bleeps had replaced what had been a full minute of Avey Tare screaming his throat out. Even lyrics like "I only want a proper house" found in the first single, "My GIrls", hint that a more accessible album might seriously help out husband and father, Panda Bear.

Make no mistake, however. The reason the album has received critical acclaim and positive fan reaction is that there is no question that this is the work of the same band. For one thing, it's not terribly difficult to draw direct lines to their older material. The keyboard sample in "Daily Routine" sounds very similar to the one in Strawberry Jam's "#1". The effect that makes Avey Tare sound like he's singing underwater during "Summertime Clothes" was the same effect used in last year's "Water Curses", and so on. In the broader spectrum, most everything on this album sounds like a logical progression from their previous work. When sprawling, haunting opener "In the Flowers" opens up, there's no question whose album this is, and lest the listener need reminding, the Beach Boys-esque vocal loops, ambient sounds and creative percussion are there to remind them.

Calling Merriweather Post Pavilion the best album of 2009 is about as absurd as calling the results of the Super Bowl after the opening kickoff, but Animal Collective have pulled off two masterful feats. First, they've made an organic sounding (rather than synth-heavy) record out of primarily electronic sources. Second, they've managed to pull together eleven beautifully written songs that both preach to the choir and convince the unconverted. As far as I'm concerned, Panda Bear, if you want those four walls and adobe slats for your girls, you've earned them.