Perennially lauded art-rockers Animal Collective have started 2009 with a bang garnering near-universal praise for their eight studio album “Merriweather Post Pavilion”. An LP which critics are calling, less than a week into the new year mind you, the album of 2009.
Pitchfork awarded Merriweather the golden seal of approval with a 9.6 rating (the last album to reach such lofty heights was Arcade Fire’s debut “Funeral”) with other publications praising the band’s ability to marry pop sensibilities with such divergent and obtuse instrumentation.
So far I’ve only heard the previously leaked “Brother Sport” and “My Girls” and I won’t lie, I’ve been flogging “My Girls” on my itunes. If there’s a more organically epic, soaringly euphoric, AND dancey track in 2009, I’d like to hear it. Best track of 2009? At least I’ve got 360 days to find out.
Here’s what the critics had to say…
Music obsessives talk a lot about originality– whether it’s important, or why having a new sound should or shouldn’t matter. In recent years, some fantastic albums have turned a number of people off for being retreads, which has sparked some interesting discussions. This album, which finds Animal Collective completely owning their unique sound, feels like the crucial next step in that conversation. What they’ve constructed here is a new kind of electronic pop– one which is machine-generated and revels in technology but is also deeply human, never drawing too much attention to its digital nature. It’s of the moment and feels new, but it’s also striking in its immediacy and comes across as friendly and welcoming. Animal Collective have spent the decade following their own path, figuring out what their music is capable of while also working to bring more listeners into their world. On Merriweather Post Pavilion, their commitment has paid off tremendously. – Pitchfork
It wasn’t that long ago we were calling them †noise rock’ and †psych folk.’ Yet no matter what mode they’re in, the band members amazingly channel the same infectious energy, even when their lives are being shaped by family rather than aesthetics. Indeed, family hasn’t become a reason for Animal Collective to stop doing “art”; family is their art. And on Merriweather, their art reminds us that immersion in Western tropes need not be met with scorn, that not all of its idioms have yet been exhausted, that embracing optimism and melody can still be so relevant — and it aches in the most soulful of ways. – Tiny Mix Tapes
In years past, Animal Collective have been cast as perpetual Peter Pans, forever stuck in childhood fantasias. But beneath the body-moving throbs and coruscating noises of Merriweather Post Pavilion, themes of domestic duty and devotion abound. On the resplendent closer, “Brother Sport,” Panda consoles his older brother after their father’s death, advising him to follow his own voice. As the beat grows increasingly joyous, the song sends a message to family and fans alike: “Open up your throat,” sings Panda, and rave on. – Spin
Title Image- Cover Art by Robert Carmichael of SEEN studio
