Christian Pop
Animal Collective Are Pop Music’s Great New Hope by Christian Lorenz
Are Animal Collective this year’s Vampire Weekend? Cute Pop tunes with smooth vocal harmonies and quirky synths make for easy listening. But Animal Collective have more aces up their sleeves.
Critics and longtime fans love the band that has stayed resolutely independent since the four friends from Baltimore started jamming together in 2000.
Often lobbed into the Nu Folk corner thanks to their vocal harmonies, Animal Collective have turned into a seriously tight Pop band over the past couple of years. Their new album ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ shows a band at the peak of their creativity.
The band’s folk rock harmonies soar over increasingly meaty Electro Pop backings and their new album moves through a whole bunch of styles taking in Afro-flavoured pop, 60’s surf music and 80’s synth pop.
At times, Animal Collective sound – wittingly or not – like Vampire Weekend. Listen to ‘Brother Sport’ and ‘Summertime Clothes’ and check those vocal harmonies, the rhythm section… Maybe it’s just the shared Afro-pop references, but replace the synth with a guitar in your head and you get the idea.
Thankfully, Animal Collective don’t stick to one formula. ‘My Girls’ lets harmonies hover over shards of icy, ambient electronics. On ‘Taste’ they adopt a casual vocal delivery – there’s almost a Liam Gallagher swagger to it – over precise Pet Shop Boys style synth pop.
It’s when Animal Collective turn to the 1960’s for inspiration that they hit their stride. The Beatles get a look-in on the mildly psychedelic ‘In The Flowers’. ‘Lion In A Coma’ and ‘No More Running’ pick up the atmosphere of Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s LSD fuelled surf symphonies of sweet harmonies and towering orchestration.
Animal Collective are no overnight sensation. The slick, effortless sound on ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ is the culmination of seven previous studio albums which saw the band morph from a fairly weedy, experimental outfit into a solid Pop act.
The experience pays off, as Animal Collective can bang out ideas and move on fast. I can’t help hearing references to other artists and records, but ‘Merriweather’ does not stand still and dwell on any particular style. It’s a case of ‘you like this? great, here’s something different’ and that keeps me coming back to this album.
If you like Vampire Weekend and the Fleet Foxes you should check out ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ – Similar, but different.
About the Author
Christian Lorenz writes for online music magazine http://www.tuneraker.com
We pick only the best new albums from a wide range of styles and tell it to you straight – No hype and no jargon.
For the latest music reviews, go to: http://www.tuneraker.com/index.php/category/music-reviews/
For our monthly round-up of the best albums, see: http://www.tuneraker.com/index.php/category/best-of-the-month/
Katy Perry (Katy Hudson) – Faith Won’t Fail (2001)
