Panda Bear’s Tomboy single just leaked. I’m listening to and live-blogging the b-side, “Slow Motion.” Here we go: A snap-crackle-pop drum loop. Panda Bear goes hip-hop? Then he’d have to have lyrics. Hamster wheel pedal-warped guitars enter next. Shit’s woozy. Here come the vox: multi-layered Noah Lennox melodic half-ideas blend in and out of each other, unintelligibly. A minute in, the song shifts its chords slightly as the vocals continue to loop. Will there be a chorus? Nah. Then, exhaustingly, the Animal Collective burbles, in case you were wondering which AC member has the collection of 1938 Everglades field recordings. We’re still looping. The drums are still drumming. I’m still waiting for the Best New Music. Did I mention I really like the new Baths record?
For context, Panda protectors, after the jump you’ll find the video for Animal Collective’s “Guys Eyes,” which finds Lennox at his day job doing a lot of the same things in a dynamic, aesthetically rich way, instead home recording himself hum while eating Cheerios. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m going to keep posting these videos until they stop being ridiculous: “Today, in my pre-algebra class, Kyle, who wears a Hollister shirt, was singing ‘My Girls.’” 14-year-old hipster, welcome to the rest of your life. (Best part: “‘Daily Routine?’ It’s a legit song, Panda Bear made it.” [insert Joke/Despair re: Kids Today].) (Via Hipster Runoff, obv.)
No walls or adobe slabs (or girls — sigh) in this one, folks, but the underwater video for Animal Collective‘s current jam of the year is bubbly and bizarre enough to warrant a viewing. Then again, it also kinda looks like an iPod ad — let the backlash begin!
Hear Merriweather Post Pavillion in full on Domino Records’ Australian MySpace. Perhaps it’s to be expected, but the post-Person PitchAnimal Collective backlash has already begun — I saw one dude on Facebook today call MPP “B.O.R.I.N.G.” As I’ve already said, it’s quite the opposite, but listen and make yr own decisions.
Sometimes being a fanboy pays off. I’ve never quite understood the cult of Animal Collective — starting with Sung Tongs in 2004, I’ve followed and often enjoyed their career, but rarely felt them deserving of the acclaim and almost mindless devotion thrown their way. Merriweather Post Pavillion is that rare album that, yes, lives up to the hype. Believe it: this is the sound of AC turned adult, a mature record that bakes all the myriad ingredients of their discography into a “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”-sized pot brownie. The druggy, psychadelic sound that Strawberry Jam ignored and Feels and Sung Tongs were too lo-fi to embrace is on full display here, but otherwise the album feels like a career summation — less Hail to the Thief and more Rubies. It’s a victory lap, and a largely improved one — the clarity and force of Strawberry Jam clearly taught them a lesson: tape loops of burping are not an essential arrangement tool. Read the rest of this entry »
Assuming a good copy doesn’t make the rounds by then, that’s the day when Animal Collective will debut the vinyl edition of Merriweather Post Pavillion, two weeks before the CD release — along with download cards for MP3s or (gasp!) CD-quality WAV files. Presumably the Internet will figure out where to go from there.
Panda Bear’s Tomboy single just leaked. I’m listening to and live-blogging the b-side, “Slow Motion.” Here we go: A snap-crackle-pop drum loop. Panda Bear goes hip-hop? Then he’d have to have lyrics. Hamster wheel pedal-warped guitars enter next. Shit’s woozy. Here come the vox: multi-layered Noah Lennox melodic half-ideas blend in and out of each other, unintelligibly. A minute in, the song shifts its chords slightly as the vocals continue to loop. Will there be a chorus? Nah. Then, exhaustingly, the Animal Collective burbles, in case you were wondering which AC member has the collection of 1938 Everglades field recordings. We’re still looping. The drums are still drumming. I’m still waiting for the Best New Music. Did I mention I really like the new Baths record?
