Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion

Artist: Animal Collective
Album: Merriweather Post Pavilion
Date Released: January 12, 2009
Genre: experimental, rock, indie rock
Rating: 9.2

Review: In what is arguably their best release to date, Animal Collective has issued the most user-friendly album of their brilliant 7 year career. Previous releases, like Here Comes the Indian (2003) and Strawberry Jam (2007) have been gorgeous and intricate, but the experimental nature of their work has often made for challenging (if not difficult) listening -- they've never really appealed to mainstream sensibilities, nor have they really tried. But with Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective has released their first "pop album" and are now poised to take their career to a different level.

Merriweather Post Pavilion is a showcase for the band and their talents. The album features all the Animal Collective trademarks: sophisticated sound design, modal minimalism, sweeping expanses, fantastic melodies and provocative lyrics. Animal Collective, the duo of Avey Tare (aka David Porter) and Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox), has produced tracks that are laden with electronic pulses and swells, all while dressed with Brian Willsonesque harmonies and a deep acoustic space. And lest their fans fear that they've gone commercial, their song arrangements are still highly unconventional and groundbreaking.

What makes Merriweather Post Pavilion particularly remarkable is how inherently listenable it is and how it reinvents itself with each listen.

The album also features remarkable cover art in which the green leaf-like objects appear to sway and flow. Indeed, like the album cover, Animal Collective remain one of the most unique and talented bands in the world.

Track highlights: "My Girls," "Bluish," and "Brother Sport."