Chris Reynolds
09/14/07, 04:53 PM
Animal Collective – Feels
Record Label: FatCat Records
Release Date: October 18, 2005
With Animal Collective's new album Feels they have created their most accessible album, almost a collective build-up of all of their previous albums. And while Feels is essentially pop-oriented, Animal Collective have a genre of their own. This is easily their most disciplined, complete effort, even though it is only nine songs in length. Many of the original Animal Collective fans will be disappointed in their departure from emotional extremism, but never before has a mixture of folk, pop, psych, noise, harmonies, and experimental sounded this good. A truly amazing sophomore effort on FatCat Records (this is the band's seventh full length album) Animal Collective shows that a band can take time and create complete albums that are equally bold, inventive, and meaningful.
And even though the album contains only nine songs, each song is something of a journey. Other than their hit single "Grass", most of the songs range from five to eight minutes long, and go through many stages while mixing different genres. The aforementioned "Grass" is still an eloquent mix of poppy ballads with screaming choruses that hammer home the intensity of the song.
Each song seems to have several crescendos. "The Purple Bottle" starts off with catchy vocals and poppy beats before a smooth transition into a softer, gentler love song with its own crescendo. "Bees" is a simple song about a complex little creature, where fright mingles with a rusted autoharp, a spare confluence of harmonized voices, and tucked-in, dreamy synthesizers. "Daffy Duck" is a song that blurs into cul de sacs of bliss only to swirl slowly back into focus. The vocals are by no means outstanding, but fit very well within the genre. The high-pitched screams in "Grass" send chills down the spine, while his soft, bubbly voice on "The Purple Bottle" is soothing and meditative.
Feels sounds like more of a complete effort, because this is a collaboration between four band members, as opposed to Sung Tongs, which was the collaboration of just Avey Tare and Panda. An ambitious and strange effort that can only remind me of Brian Wilson and George Harrison, Animal Collective has found a unique personality in their music only they can duplicate.
Several bands have tried to blend experimental with psychedelic and pop and failed (i.e. Sound of Animals Fighting). Animal Collective succeeds and then some. Coming off as an acid droppers delight, Feels doesn't ask much of the listener, except to sit back, relax, and enjoy. Be sure to check this out. Finding it can be quite difficult though (I had to go to a small local record store for my copy), but it is well worth the search. In fact, anytime an album as groundbreaking and influential as this one comes along, be sure to find a copy as soon as possible. When putting this album in your CD player or mp3 player, prepare for a journey like never before.
Record Label: FatCat Records
Release Date: October 18, 2005
With Animal Collective's new album Feels they have created their most accessible album, almost a collective build-up of all of their previous albums. And while Feels is essentially pop-oriented, Animal Collective have a genre of their own. This is easily their most disciplined, complete effort, even though it is only nine songs in length. Many of the original Animal Collective fans will be disappointed in their departure from emotional extremism, but never before has a mixture of folk, pop, psych, noise, harmonies, and experimental sounded this good. A truly amazing sophomore effort on FatCat Records (this is the band's seventh full length album) Animal Collective shows that a band can take time and create complete albums that are equally bold, inventive, and meaningful.
And even though the album contains only nine songs, each song is something of a journey. Other than their hit single "Grass", most of the songs range from five to eight minutes long, and go through many stages while mixing different genres. The aforementioned "Grass" is still an eloquent mix of poppy ballads with screaming choruses that hammer home the intensity of the song.
Each song seems to have several crescendos. "The Purple Bottle" starts off with catchy vocals and poppy beats before a smooth transition into a softer, gentler love song with its own crescendo. "Bees" is a simple song about a complex little creature, where fright mingles with a rusted autoharp, a spare confluence of harmonized voices, and tucked-in, dreamy synthesizers. "Daffy Duck" is a song that blurs into cul de sacs of bliss only to swirl slowly back into focus. The vocals are by no means outstanding, but fit very well within the genre. The high-pitched screams in "Grass" send chills down the spine, while his soft, bubbly voice on "The Purple Bottle" is soothing and meditative.
Feels sounds like more of a complete effort, because this is a collaboration between four band members, as opposed to Sung Tongs, which was the collaboration of just Avey Tare and Panda. An ambitious and strange effort that can only remind me of Brian Wilson and George Harrison, Animal Collective has found a unique personality in their music only they can duplicate.
Several bands have tried to blend experimental with psychedelic and pop and failed (i.e. Sound of Animals Fighting). Animal Collective succeeds and then some. Coming off as an acid droppers delight, Feels doesn't ask much of the listener, except to sit back, relax, and enjoy. Be sure to check this out. Finding it can be quite difficult though (I had to go to a small local record store for my copy), but it is well worth the search. In fact, anytime an album as groundbreaking and influential as this one comes along, be sure to find a copy as soon as possible. When putting this album in your CD player or mp3 player, prepare for a journey like never before.