Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion


5.0
classic

Review

by Zifteruften USER (4 Reviews)
June 25th, 2015 | 30 replies


Release Date: 2009 | Tracklist

Review Summary: like this was enough to express it all.

"Merriweather Post Pavilion" is the most interactive experience I've ever had with music. While records like Radiohead's "Kid A" and Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" stuck with me for years and are still records I hold on to very dearly, Animal Collective's eighth album is a different dimension entirely. More than a musical experience that makes you feel something and observe an emotional/psychological state through a determined prism of perspective, "Merriweather Post Pavilion" embraces you and makes you feel comfortable as if your home was being a part of it. As a devoted music explorer and a deeply entranced soul-searcher, I've seen and still see a reflection of who I am throughout MPP's entire 55-minute length, and no moment ever ceases to stand as an undescribable experience. I see myself in the eccentric outbursts of joy that characterize "In the Flowers"' latter-half climax. The love and affection I nurture for my family are deeply inscripted in "My Girls". I contemplate my own laziness by listening to the mesmerizing drones on "Daily Routine". My urges are perfectly illustrated on "Guys Eyes", and "Taste" flawlessly sums up the subjectivity and relativity I tend to see in all things. "Lion In a Coma" not only makes me realize and conclude that I am indeed a weird guy and a mess of a human being, but it also makes me feel quite comfortable and ok with it. And finally "Brother Sport" - which might be my favorite track of all time - always shows up as the track that is willing to share a positive and insightful perspective on things with me when nobody else is willing to do so.

While bands like Radiohead always felt like an ensemble of artistic prodigies and Neutral Milk Hotel always felt to me like an ensemble of deeply rooted and overly sentimental men, Animal Collective have always felt like a hybrid between a tribe of alien creatures and a casual bunch of pretty cool dudes. You could definitely say Animal Collective are music's true outcasts, the way I've always been an outcast everywhere I go to. "Merriweather Post Pavilion" symbolizes more than just music to me, but a depiction of every single thing there is to love about life, widely spread in a parallel universe and condensed into 55 minutes. "Merriweather Post Pavilion" is a marvellous record because it keeps gently reminding me that I'm worth it and that there is no such thing as permanence or absolute truth. Actually, MPP enhances the spontaneous kid within me, reminds me to always keep it cool and insists that the only constant in this universe is change... and I've always been quite fond of surprises.


user ratings (3001)
3.9
excellent
other reviews of this album
1 of


Comments:Add a Comment 
mindleviticus
June 25th 2015


10488 Comments


Nice review! I had this album on repeat when it was first releasesd. The lyrics and vocals are the highlight in my opinion.

Zifteruften
June 25th 2015


194 Comments


Forgot to mention the glossy production... the gargantuan presentation... the fact that every single track in here is absolutely perfect... but anyway, I couldn't give a rat's ass since no review could ever express what I feel about this record.

Zifteruften
June 25th 2015


194 Comments


@mindleviticus, thank you very much! can't pick a single component, everything about this record is fascinating to me.

Kman418
June 25th 2015


13271 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

agreed

TheBarber
June 25th 2015


4130 Comments


after reading the review I imagined a face trapped in a constant grin smile, then I saw your avatar and I am now filled with terrified sadness

review has some K chops/entertaining

Acanthus
June 26th 2015


9812 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

The love and affection I nurture for my family are deeply inscripted in "My Girls".



Yep, and the music video is pretty cool too (song got me into the band in general).

BMDrummer
June 26th 2015


15096 Comments


gotta jam more of these guys

Ocean of Noise
June 26th 2015


10970 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

evidently, since you still have this at a 4 ;)

BMDrummer
June 26th 2015


15096 Comments


never understood what people hate about this band

Ryus
June 26th 2015


36764 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

once there's the hype train, there's the inevitable anti-hype train



also pitchfork loves these guys so there's that

BMDrummer
June 26th 2015


15096 Comments


where you been :]

BeneaththeDarkOcean
June 26th 2015


687 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

" "Merriweather Post Pavilion" is the most interactive experience I've ever had with music. While records like Radiohead's "Kid A" and Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" stuck with me for years and are still records I hold on to very dearly "



I feel a strong tendency to pull a Homer Simpson NEEEEERD except instead of nerd it would be HIPSTEEEEEER or INDIIIIIEE

psandy
June 26th 2015


280 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

the delayed gratification of the structure of "My Girls" and "Also Frightened" among others on this record is something that so mysteriously kept me coming back, but that's only one of the many intricacies that riddles this album. This is one record that I truly believe is perfect to the point of overflowing. Excellent review.

Zifteruften
June 26th 2015


194 Comments


@BeneaththeDarkOcean, but hey, you have ITAOTS and Kid A 5'd. And MBDTF too. I don't get it, hehehehe.
@psandy, thank you so much, man! Glad to see you liked it that much, and also glad to see you love the record like I do.

theBoneyKing
June 26th 2015


24412 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Just have to say this is more of a paean to why you love the album than a review, but there's really no issue with that since there are already plenty of reviews of this.

Gyromania
June 26th 2015


37030 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

pretentious review

Zifteruften
June 26th 2015


194 Comments


@theBoneyKing, indeed, quite a personal one. couldn't review this one through objective prisms, since it does mean quite a chunky bunch of things to me.

PFinferno
June 26th 2015


9 Comments


I never got into these guys because of the "weird" rep they have. I'll give this a shot though. I'm intrigued now

Ryus
June 26th 2015


36764 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

wat

deathschool
June 26th 2015


28645 Comments


They're just a bunch of weirdos. Weird music scares me.



You have to be logged in to post a comment. Login | Create a Profile





STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy