Archive for January, 2009

Animal Collective “Summertime Clothes”

1) I’ll be honest with you: I had pretty much given up on these guys. After the initial thrill of discovering Spirit They’re Gone Spirit They’ve Vanished and Danse Manatee circa 2001, Avey Tare and Panda Bear’s path mostly diverged from what I wanted, and what I imagined to be their full potential. There were good songs along the way — “Who Could Win A Rabbit?,” “Grass,” about half of Person Pitch, and “Chores,” but for the most part, their music had come to seem overly indulgent, lazy, or horribly uninspiring. I can’t hear Strawberry Jam as anything other than a failed compromise; a misfire that moved toward more accessible songwriting while leaning hard on the most grating aspects of their distinct aesthetic. I just get this allergic reaction hearing that album — I wish I could isolate exactly what it is that bothers me so much, but I can hardly stand to listen to most of the tracks.

2) I didn’t expect much from Merriweather Post Pavilion, but my immediate response was positive. Very positive, in fact, to the point that I had to wonder how much of my reaction came out of the fact that I was enjoying new music by a band I had almost entirely written off. One or two good songs wouldn’t have such a huge surprise — even their worst records have at least one worthwhile track — but Merriweather was the thing I’d been hoping for since the start of the decade: A record by Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and the Geologist that was tuneful and enjoyable from beginning to end without sacrificing their particular tone and style. The album is not perfect — it’s a bit too long and lags in the middle — but it is by far the best work of their career to date. Simply put, Merriweather Post Pavilion is everything good about the Animal Collective, with barely a trace of their worst impulses. It’s a balancing act, really — disciplined pop and avant chaos, hippie and hipster, electronic textures and quasi-primitive rhythms — there is nothing on the album that wasn’t there all along, but suddenly they’ve got it all figured out.

3) “Summertime Clothes” is essentially a synth pop song with a folk pop melody, done up in Animal Collective drag. It’s about as conventional and straightforward as the band has ever been, but it still feels light-headed, delirious, and disconnected. Avey Tare sings about feeling uncomfortable in oppressive heat, and sneaking out with a someone for a walk as a way of making the most of a sleepless night. His words focus on physical sensation, and the music follows suit, simulating waves of stifling heat, thick humid breeze, and the slightly unreal feeling of empty city streets in the wee hours of the morning. Even when it feels most sticky and wet, the song overflows with pleasure and an overwhelming, utterly joyous sense of both physical and mental freedom, as if all the singer’s neuroses have temporarily disappeared, and he’s just acting on instinct. He seems amazed by himself, by his partner, by the beauty of everything around him. More than that, he seems genuinely grateful.

Buy it from Insound.

Hilotrons “Lovesuit”

Aside from vaguely resembling the Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody),” the most immediately striking thing about “Lovesuit” is its immaculate tone. Every element in the track seems almost freakishly crisp and clean, but somehow the song doesn’t feel uptight. It’s like a state of alert, clear-headed relaxation. The lead singer does seem a bit high-strung at points, but even still, any anxiety in his voice or rigidity in the beat is diluted by the composition’s overall cool, easy-going vibe.

Buy it from Kelp Records.

Women “Shaking Hands”

Taken on its own, Women’s breakthrough song “Black Rice” gives the impression that the band is in the same general post-Zombies/Beach Boys aesthetic zone as the Shins, but the rest of their work comes closer to emulating Sonic Youth’s balance of freaky punk experimentation and gorgeous, winding arpeggiated melodies. “Shaking Hands” is a fine example, cycling through several parts that recall Sonic Youth at various stages in their career, from the grim urban tangles of Sister and Daydream Nation on through the more placid landscapes of A Thousand Leaves and Murray Street. This is not to say that Women lack character — their tones are colder, their beats have more stutter, and their compositions go on more frequent digressions, generally avoiding Sonic Youth’s penchant for neatly symmetrical forms.

Buy it from Jagjaguwar.

Hank “Threw Me”

Song one, side one for 2009. We start things off feeling rather tentative, but optimistic. We’ve still got a touch of bitterness, but we’re slowly letting it go — we know it’s not helpful, that it’s not productive. We harmonize, we come together to make something beautiful. Our confidence builds, but we’re still skeptical and questioning, even of ourselves and our collective strength, careful not to over- or underestimate our capabilities. We hit our stride, we cool out. We already feel better, so we all smile. We’ve taken our lumps, but it’s time to move on, to try to find the silver linings, and the opportunities hidden within all sorts of adversity. It’s time to build, it’s time to create, it’s time to move into the next decade, and get our heads out of 2008. Let’s go.

Buy it from Weeping Truckers.