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DVDfever.co.uk – Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Domino Records
- Released: January 2009
- Rating: 6/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
AC fly in the face of .all genres.
Right now, there arent many bands experimenting as much Animal Collective.
MPP is ACs ninth studio album, titled after the venue in Columbia Maryland, for some reason, as yet unexplained.
Unlike previous offerings, tracks are no longer than the 6 minute mark.
My Girls
Because members live on different continents now – USA and Portugal – it cant be easy getting that, er, no apologies, collective feel, nevertheless, they do their utmost to overcome the continental rift.
Drawing comparisons with any peer group or genre are tough, so I wont try.
MMP isnt instant by any means: it will grow on you.
The big appeal is the magnificent electro beats and sumptuous texturing of sounds which blend, bend and even juxtapose each other.
The vocals are very detached and emotionless, though mightily effective.
The albums straight in at 26 (W/C 19 January) which bodes well.
Single, My Girls (see right) is bound to propel the album, though its elsewhere we find the nitty gritty of their freewheeling sojourns, like the initial spacey ambient delights of In The Flowers that, at the mid-point explodes into a kind of dance cacophony, then running-out into its original template, fading right into My Girls. Summertime Clothes has a dirty dance groove and might be My Girls follow-up. The opening mish-mash sequence on Daily Routine leads eventually to a sublime sequence to its end, whereas the crunching grind of Taste, is a techno-tweekers heaven. Later we get to No More Runnin, a kind of Pink Floyd off-shot from Dark Side Of The Moon. Inevitably, they simply cant resist going all out with masses of BPMs via the dance based killer Brother Sport.
The Verdict : Some very good moments, but not enough.
Press release for new single, My Girls
Domino is proud to announce the release of My Girls, the first single taken from Animal Collectives defining recent album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, on 23rd March 2009.
From the first note, My Girls wide-eyed, open-armed charm is thoroughly addictive. Throughout its five and a half minutes, Panda Bear and Avey Tares sublime vocal harmonies are added to layers of joyful handclaps and Geologists percussive extravagance to create an increasingly calm sense of euphoria, leaving the listener in a blissed-out, childlike state. Possibly the most beautiful song ever about appreciating the simpler things in life, My Girls is best listened to in the context of the full record, Merriweather Post Pavilion already a contender for the greatest album of the decade.
After performing four sold out UK headline dates in January, the band have just announced a full UK and Irish tour for March, including a show at The Forum in London on March 24th. Full dates are as follows:
- Sun 22-Mar-09 UK Bristol The Trinity
- Mon 23-Mar-09 UK Nottingham Rescue Rooms
- Tue 24-Mar-09 UK London The Forum
- Wed 25-Mar-09 UK Leeds TJs
- Thu 26-Mar-09 UK Liverpool The Static Gallery
- Fri 27-Mar-09 IRL Dublin Tripod
- Sat 28-Mar-09 IRL Belfast Stiff Kitten
My Girls will be available as a digital download (RUG320D).
Weblink:myspace.com/animalcollectivetheband
The full list of tracks included are :
1. In The Flowers
2. My Girls
3. Also Frightened
4. Summertime Clothes
5. Daily Routine
6. Bluish
7. Guys Eyes
8. Taste
9. Lion In A Coma
10. No More Runnin
11. Brothers SportView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.