It has been just over four years now since I wrote my last album review. Initially I was afraid that I would be rusty or, even worse, that my writing would have grown ‘unhip’. To combat these fears, I read a multitude of reviews of this album in preparation. I have to admit, what I found was quite surprising.

I use as example this quote from Pitchfork Media, written by a Mr. Mark Richardson. Richardson describes certain songs on the album as having, “the ego-pulverizing bliss of shoegaze,” or perhaps even better is his simple description of the song Brother Sport as “Afro-Brazilian-flavored.” What this research revealed to me was that, 1) there is no way I can compete with these online reviews in terms of coolness; and 2) that I can freely create words and sentence structures to fill my purposes in album reviews. So, in light of this revelation, I will give the following sentence as a short, and concise, review of the album.

“Beyond its originality and promorgasmic songs, Animal Collective has really reached the pinnacle of their work, recreating their past successes, and once again adding something pantsholller to their repertoire in the form of their incandescent beats and holfactic electronic noise; music good.”

Perhaps now with my coolness in full swing and my English in sorry disarray, I can properly review the album.  To me, this album represents one of the best musical creations of the last year, if not multiple years. I have yet to hear an album by Animal Collective that sounds anything like any of their many other albums and this one is no different. With Meriwether Post Pavilion the band has found the perfect balance between their noise filled electronic beginnings and their more recent pop infused albums.  From songs like Summertime Clothes, with its heavily layered instruments and mesmerizing background vocals, to Daily Routine with its electric organ and tribal rhythm, the album ranges over the entire musical spectrum. Furthermore, the songs move in an almost perfect progression, melding from one to the next. The entire album plays like a single continuous work without anything slowing it down or getting in the way.

The main idea or symbol of the album seems to be the simple act of living. Almost every song deals with human interaction in one form or another, giving the album a highly personal and human feel that has not previously existed in their older, and weirder, works. With lines like “will it be just like I’m dreaming,” and “Am I really all the things that are outside of me,” the album speaks about an everyday investigation into personal life. None of the songs focus on a singular aspect, and the wide variety of ideas mirrors the wide range that the music explores.

The hype surrounding this album is already colossal and will only continue to grow as the word gets out.  If you have never heard the band before, this album is a perfect introduction, and will interest anyone with a musical taste that might be considered outside of the ordinary. I strongly encourage anyone interested to get their hands on it.