Fall Be Kind EP: Animal Collective (***1/2) <Domino> Genre: Psychedelia, Ambient, Experimental 2009’s favorite band scrounges up the rest of Merriweather’s material I don’t know what exactly happened, but Animal Collective went from being a freaky indie band to dominating everyone’s year end lists and being hailed as geniuses.  And yes, Merriweather Post Pavilion was incredible, but the sudden jump to fame has taken me through a bit of a loop.  Anyways, whatever the case, Panda Bear, Avey Tare and Geologist have returned with a collection of five hazy tracks.  I believe almost all of them have been fan favorites at shows, and now they’re available on CD. Like Merriweather, Fall Be Kind has a distinct “season” feel to it.  But where Merriweather Post Pavilion harked a summer sound and felt warm and sunny, Fall Be Kind is definitely a winter release to me.  Each track sounds cold and desolate.  Of course, though, like Merriweather, it rubs be in both the wrong and the right ways, so I’m very torn on what to think of Fall Be Kind as a whole piece.   As a whole, I’ve concluded that it’s ultimately an uneven listen.  I can find great ideas on every track, but four out of the five songs are imperfect.  The opener “Graze” is masterful for the first two minutes.  I love the open ambience of the piece, almost like it’s implying the start of a brand new day.  It’s so refreshing to listen to.  But then Animal Collective have to ruin it all by throwing off the serene feeling of it all and throw in a bunch of flutes and make the last part of “Graze” sound like traditional Animal Collective, complete with the freaky circus sounds and tribal yelping.  *Sigh*, “Graze” was almost an incredible song, but I just can’t take the last half at all, as it leaves a bitter taste. “What Would I Want? Sky,” however, makes me feel amazing.  I feel comfortable saying that this track is the best song the Animal Collective have ever written.  Oddly enough, it’s the first time any band has ever legally licensed a Grateful Dead sample, which just seems absurd to me.  To think that no one has sampled the Grateful Dead yet seems crazy.  Oh well.  The beginning is amazing, full of a million layers of dense production, looped for what seems like eternity.  Once the clouds part though, the song begins in a disorienting 7/4 time signature, Jerry Garcia’s voice echoing through an unending loop for the rest of the song.  The chorus is magnificent.  It’s a perfect example of how the Animal Collective can craft a song that’s so out there but still at its very core is a pop song.  The rest of the EP is mostly ambient experimentation.  It’s all pleasant sounding, but nothing really that great unless you’re a huge Animal Collective fan.  I can hear a lot of great ideas echoing through each song, but on a whole, most of the songs don’t go anywhere.  It’s a good record to put on for background noise, but Fall Be Kind doesn’t quite catch the magnificence as Merriweather Post Pavilion.  I mean, that’s pretty expected.  This is an EP of the songs that didn’t make it to the main attraction, so it’s natural that the EP doesn’t hold up quite as well.  Still, it’s a good enough release to warrant a purchase. Key Tracks: “What Would I Want? Sky,” “On A Highway” For Fans Of: Panda Bear, Dirty Projectors, The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead

Fall Be Kind EP: Animal Collective (***1/2) <Domino>

Genre: Psychedelia, Ambient, Experimental

2009’s favorite band scrounges up the rest of Merriweather’s material

I don’t know what exactly happened, but Animal Collective went from being a freaky indie band to dominating everyone’s year end lists and being hailed as geniuses.  And yes, Merriweather Post Pavilion was incredible, but the sudden jump to fame has taken me through a bit of a loop.  Anyways, whatever the case, Panda Bear, Avey Tare and Geologist have returned with a collection of five hazy tracks.  I believe almost all of them have been fan favorites at shows, and now they’re available on CD.

Like Merriweather, Fall Be Kind has a distinct “season” feel to it.  But where Merriweather Post Pavilion harked a summer sound and felt warm and sunny, Fall Be Kind is definitely a winter release to me.  Each track sounds cold and desolate.  Of course, though, like Merriweather, it rubs be in both the wrong and the right ways, so I’m very torn on what to think of Fall Be Kind as a whole piece.  

As a whole, I’ve concluded that it’s ultimately an uneven listen.  I can find great ideas on every track, but four out of the five songs are imperfect.  The opener “Graze” is masterful for the first two minutes.  I love the open ambience of the piece, almost like it’s implying the start of a brand new day.  It’s so refreshing to listen to.  But then Animal Collective have to ruin it all by throwing off the serene feeling of it all and throw in a bunch of flutes and make the last part of “Graze” sound like traditional Animal Collective, complete with the freaky circus sounds and tribal yelping.  *Sigh*, “Graze” was almost an incredible song, but I just can’t take the last half at all, as it leaves a bitter taste.

“What Would I Want? Sky,” however, makes me feel amazing.  I feel comfortable saying that this track is the best song the Animal Collective have ever written.  Oddly enough, it’s the first time any band has ever legally licensed a Grateful Dead sample, which just seems absurd to me.  To think that no one has sampled the Grateful Dead yet seems crazy.  Oh well.  The beginning is amazing, full of a million layers of dense production, looped for what seems like eternity.  Once the clouds part though, the song begins in a disorienting 7/4 time signature, Jerry Garcia’s voice echoing through an unending loop for the rest of the song.  The chorus is magnificent.  It’s a perfect example of how the Animal Collective can craft a song that’s so out there but still at its very core is a pop song. 

The rest of the EP is mostly ambient experimentation.  It’s all pleasant sounding, but nothing really that great unless you’re a huge Animal Collective fan.  I can hear a lot of great ideas echoing through each song, but on a whole, most of the songs don’t go anywhere.  It’s a good record to put on for background noise, but Fall Be Kind doesn’t quite catch the magnificence as Merriweather Post Pavilion.  I mean, that’s pretty expected.  This is an EP of the songs that didn’t make it to the main attraction, so it’s natural that the EP doesn’t hold up quite as well.  Still, it’s a good enough release to warrant a purchase.

Key Tracks: “What Would I Want? Sky,” “On A Highway”

For Fans Of: Panda Bear, Dirty Projectors, The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead