Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Released in January 2009 (yes I realise I’m a whole year late!) ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ by Animal Collective is one of the most challenging-yet-rewarding listening experiences I have gone through. For those who don’t know, Animal Collective is a New York-based 4 piece experimental/psychedelic pop band. While the band has been active since the turn of the century, their eighth studio album, in nine years that too, ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ has been garnering critical acclaim and a place in the top ten in plenty of year-end lists. Describing this beautiful album is no mean task for it’s one of the oddest albums I’ve heard in quite some time. The sound can be loosely compared to early Pink Floyd or even the early days of The Verve minus the guitars.

A Little World Of Their Own

On Merriweather, Animal Collective has managed to dissect the very notion of what a song should be like. The music is mostly ambient and atmospheric as evident on the album opener ‘In The Flowers’. The most noticeable aspect of the music is that it is so layered. There is always a wall of sound present in the background, the vocals being the driving point of each song. Even the vocals are heavily layered with lots of echo. Following ‘In The Flowers’ is ‘My Girls’, with a catchy beat and good lyrics to go along with it. ‘Also Frightened’ is also worth a listen and it does well to maintain the flow of the first two songs. After the opening trio, we finally get to ‘Summertime Clothes’. It’s probably the most accessible song on the entire album. The feel-good nature of the song will have you coming back again and again. As weird as it sounds, the song transported me to another time, when we were younger and things were not so complicated.

While the subsequent songs don’t fit as well as the first, there are plenty of gems to be found such as the wonderfully ethereal ‘Bluish’ and ‘Taste’. Then there is the didgeridoo (an aboriginal wind instrument) driven craziness of ‘Lion in Coma’. Despite the abundance of magnificent songs on the album, my favourite is the album closer ‘Brother Sport’. It’s catchy, bouncy, crazy and even uplifting. Above it’s a fun song, the kind of song that you wished never got over. It’s a fitting end to a masterful album.

Conclusion

On my first listen, I assumed ‘Merriweather’ would be a one-time listen only. But I was proved wrong; there are plenty of songs that you may find yourself listening to on repeat. Sure, it’s not the most accessible album out there, but it is emotionally satisfying. Be prepared to be transported to another world or perhaps even a different time for once you’re hooked on, you may find it hard to let go.

“Open up your, open up your
Open up your throat
And let the all of that time
All of that time, all of that time go

I know it sucks that daddy’s done
But try to think of what you want
You got to open up your
Open up your, open up your
Open up your throat.”

- Brother Sport