Album Rating: 4.5

haha. Thanks. Left side of the picture is surprisingly relevant.

Album Rating: 3.5

album rules, totally exceeded my expectations. not as good as strawberry jam, but the fact that they followed up sj with such an incredible album just solidifies them as one of the best bands of the last decade. First half of the album flows perfectly, second half is cool with its more varied sound but ultimately just a bit weaker. "Summertime Clothes" is definitely one of the best songs they have ever written and my favorite track on the album. Other standouts, in order of preference: "My Girls," "Also Frightened," "Brothersport," "Daily Routine," "Guys Eyes," "Lion In A Coma." And the tracks I left out are also fantastic, they just haven't sunk in yet. good review and I can't wait to take LSD and listen to this.

but the fact that they followed up sj with such an incredible album just solidifies them as one of the best bands of the last decade.

How so?

i don't know why more accessible has to mean that the record is "dumbed down." Something can be more accessible and still be experimental.This Message Edited On 01.06.09

Album Rating: 3.5

yeah exactly, thats what i meant.

Album Rating: 3.5

man i feel guilty about not talking about no more runnin, taste, bluish. im listening to no more runnin right now, this song is so fucking good. i dont understand how they can create this distinctive "album" feel yet genre-hop and shift styles so much from song to song. the recording just perfectly captures them. gotta say you can hear person pitch soooo much in this album too, in the way its recorded and such. avey and panda bear work together so beautifully on this album vocally also.This Message Edited On 01.06.09

2009 doesnt need to have any more releases now

Album Rating: 1.5

Ya, I think what I value in AC is that their process and their found sound can equal the output. The more I listen to Xiu Xiu against AC, I realize why I can like the former and dislike the latter. Jamie Stewart essentially writes songs, you know, songs with 4-chord harmonic progressions and vocal melodies and poop like that, and then completely contorts them and mangles them through production. He has two layers, his songwriting, and then his production work. What AC did so well for me was the opposite. It was almost like they enjoyed the possibilities of the composition and recording process using lots of interesting sounds. They didn't have "songs" in mind but rather ideas for sounds that they align in interesting ways. Why MPP fails for me is because they seem to be composing more along the lines of Xiu Xiu now, and aren't all that good at it imo. Jamie Stewart's music is all about being ridiculously melodramatic and cathartic, so it makes sense that he'd be a songwriter first and producer second. Even then his role as producer is like that of some other personality of Stewart. His songwriting is incredibly personal, and at moments coy or in your face and his production can similarly subdued or coy. Some of his best songs take brutal lyrical themes like incestual rape and portrays them in a touching, sentimental, and delicate way. I don't see AC as being compelling songwriters in the traditional sense. They aren't going to move me with a beautiful lyrical or melodic fragment, but are more going to interest me with what they can do as sound manipulators. When I hear an album like MPP that plays down their role as producers and upgrades the presence of their songwriting, I feel like something vital is missing.

you need to stop comparing albums like this (hyped ones) to your old favoritee
also i read that all and im not happy with myself

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

I like that this album focuses more on their songwriting and less on production wackness. I mean it's still distinctly AC in its melodies and sound but now the songs warrant repeated listens because they're awesome, not just because they're different (although they've always had elements of awesome/different)

Album Rating: 3.5

dude sorry but Xiu Xiu fucking sucks. i seriously can't take anything you say seriously or read any of your argument if you are mentioning Xiu Xiu in the same breath.



wait, okay i read the post anyway and i'm stunned. animal collective are trying to be xiu xiu? what?

Album Rating: 1.5

joshuatree, I'm just trying to share some of my thought processes with Lewis. We are having a nice discussion about music. Lay

off and increase the peace.



cb, I'm not saying they're trying to be Xiu Xiu at all. I'm saying their songwriting-production linkage is starting to look like Xiu

Xiu's

a lot more than old AC. That doesn't mean they sound anything like Xiu Xiu. It means their output sounds like their process has

changed. It has nothing to do with sounding like Xiu Xiu, which they don't.This Message Edited On

01.06.09This Message Edited On 01.06.09

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

cb, that's not what he's saying but I still don't agree with his pointThis Message Edited On 01.06.09

ac is all about the peace

Album Rating: 1.5

Then let's live it brother.

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

fuckin hippies

Album Rating: 3.5

like honestly my brain just exploded. fabulous muscles is one of the most miserably bad collections of music ive heard. i could maybe see faulting ac's songwriting abilities on their earlier work where they were more experimenting with noise and various effects, loops, etc. but i think i can say the general consensus among fans and critics is that ac's last three lps have received such praise because they have finally channeled their love of noise manipulation, unconventional vocals, etc. into fantastic pieces of songwriting. i just dont understand how you can listen to for reverend green, grass, my girls, who could win a rabbit (this one has changing time signatures, you should love it!) and not see the fantastic songwriting. what makes them so unique for me is their incredible ability to weave pop melodies and harmonies over some of the strangest noise and sound in a way that forms a legitimate song. thats good songwriting.

Album Rating: 1.5

Haha right before you posted this I was reading your comments about Fabulous Muscles in one of my old reviews. Didn't realize you hated it so much. I just think AC are too boring as plain songwriters and need that electronic manipulation as their compositional process to stay really interesting for me.

Album Rating: 5.0

The reason this is the best Animal Collective album is because it focuses on song form but still has all that weird stuff you expect from them. So basically I agree with Nick but think it's a huge plus rather than a negative.This Message Edited On 01.06.09

I think he's comparing AC to Xiu Xiu so Sputnik users will get an idea of what AC is moving towards, I seriously doubt he's saying that the Animal Collective are purposely becoming a Xiu Xiu copycat.

lunchforthesky Animal Collective has always concentrated on 'song form' as you put it, which I assume means song structure, their melodies have never really been completely pulled out of nowhere, they've always sounded coherent.This Message Edited On 01.06.09