Merriweather Post Pavilion

Pop, electrónico.

Fun and fresh

AnCo are one of the most innovative and exciting bands of the 21st century, and this is a really solid record. That being said, I just don't love it as much as Sung Tongs or Feels (or even Panda Bear's solo release Person Pitch) so can't really justify giving it higher than a 3, no matter what Pitchfork may do to me Edit: After a relisten I am going to go with a 4, especially as I think it's their only album on the list. My Girls, Summertime Clothes, and Lion in a Coma all are highlights and there is just so much lovely and strange but groovy stuff

Mesmerizing. This album sounds like I'm trapped inside a kaleidoscope. I listened when I was really tired and was hypnotized the whole time. Cool listen. It feels more innovative and interesting than other indie artists have dared to attempt.

Like pop melodies run through a blender.

Sounds not quite like anything else. A little saccharine, surprisingly. The vocals are lightly Beach Boys-y, while the rest ventures further.

EI kyl jotenkin toimi mulle, vaikka pystynkin kuvittelemaan tän johonkin Flown telttalavalle vuonna 2009! En osaa perustella mikä tässä tökkii. Ehken vaa oo valmis viel tälläselle keskinkertaselle dreampop:ille 2/5

Ai jai. Tässä on kyllä ihan maagiset saundit, jaksaa kyllä kuunnella vuodesta toiseen. Oikeestaan kaikki biisit on konsistentisti tosi hyviä, paitsi Lion in a Coma ja ehkä Brother Sporttia ei aina jaksa. 5/5 kesäalbumi. Lievästä meemistatuksesta huolimatta on tää sen verran lähempänä vitosta kun nelosta että ehkä sen voi antaa.

Nonnih, tuleehan täältä sitä hyvääkin indietä. Tää on se, miten Beach Boysin ja ehkä Beatlesinkin perintöä siirretään onnistuneesti 2000-luvulle. Ihanan kesäistä pop-trippailua. Ja aina löytyy jotain uutta ja parhaat biisit vaan paranee (Bluish !!). Vaatii tosin ihan ok äänentoiston, että toimii. Kämäsillä napeilla kuulosti joskus tosi lattealta.

Erinomaista ja erilaista näkökulmaa elektrooniseen suuntaan, unohtamatta kuitenkaan tiettyä poppismenoa. Kuuntelin ekaa kertaa joskus lukiossa ja silloin tuntui jotenkin vaikeammalta, mutta nyt ymmärsin paremmin. Helppo 4/5.

Did not like this.

This is one of those albums you have to experience everywhere. I've listened to this with headphones, on tiny speakers, and with large speakers and a bass system. I've listened to this while on a train, trying to sleep, working, high on edibles, even on shrooms. Just like mbv's Loveless, there's a lot of ways to experience the album and break down everything happening. It's a psychedelic pop masterpiece: Animal Collective's proudest and most accessible moment. The songs completely envelop you. It's immensely colorful and bright. The vocals are clear, and the lyrics are optimistic and engaging. The synths are used to advance their creativity in psychedelia, tools that had been developing for a decade following Flaming Lips's reinvention of the genre. Some tracks you can dance to, while at other things they serve a more artistic purpose, to wow the audience and glue the tracks together as part of a large continuous scheme. Track ordering is perfect. Starts off with the fan favorite "In The Flowers," setting the standard for the impressive weirdness you're in store for. The next four songs are the accessible pop hits to entice any newcomers to the wonderful world of psychedelic synthpop. The rest of the album has their own merits. They're dynamic, constantly evolving, and very fun to listen to while high. Pick and choose your favorites, but I love them all. I find them all super memorable. There are moments to groove along, and there are moments to just pause and appreciate what's happening. Reminds me of Bjork's work here and there, but mostly The Beatles and Beach Boys during their psychedelic phases. The album ends with the optimistic "Brother Sport." I adore the repetition in this album. Some may find it excessive, but I find it works really well, especially when it takes the focus while noises shift in the background. "Brother Sport" is based around this idea in each of its stages and it leaves with a satisfactory happy ending.

Not bad, not great Would probably enjoy it more with more drugs.

Been there done that, Great Album

To me, the melody and hooks of many of the songs tend to be hidden by an excessive amount of effects. Generally, this type of music and arrangement is right up my alley, and listening to this album I more often than not found myself bored.

Nah

Poor psychedelic nonsense

Listened to the album 3 times. It's a good album, with sound collages, incredible harmonies and clever music. It just doesn't do anything for me, doesn't elicit any emotion. In the end I just zone out with this music.

Didn’t have enough time to finish. Enjoyable but nondescript.

Sometimes I worry this list might make me hate music. This is the worst album I've suffered through so far.

Schönes Gedudel, das aber nirgendwo hinführt. Kann man mal hören.

Late Noughties Psychedelia/Pop not really my thing and my first time of listening. I always find Psychedelia to be a little bit Navel Gazing and much more about the bands and their concepts rather than the audience. (Never got how some bands play to each other rather than out to the Audience) not to my taste, even though they are obviously good musicians I found this hard to listen to... I suppose a bit like how I found it hard to listen to YES in the '70's. If I had to choose a favourite I suppose "My Girls" and "Summertime Clothes" have some credit. But let's be honest I am never gonna love this being a child in the 60's and a Teenager during the '70's Punk was my thing and anything longer than 2.5-3 mins in terms of song length was definitely old hippy stuff! I do believe though this album was written and performed for the writers and performers rather than anyone else. Not In my collection I'm Afraid.

Overrated

good shit, it’s like Oneohtrix Point Never meets MGMT meets LCD Soundsystem 10/10 album, I definitely need to look into more of their discography

Pfff… echt niet.

When Animal Collective came up as the suggestion, I knew that they are a band that has music that I like but I couldn't remember what I've heard from them. "My Girls" and "Brother Sport" are a couple of the tracks that I've heard before, and I like both of those tracks. Sometimes a portion of "Brother Sport" gets stuck in my head. Animal Collective has a mix of indie pop and electronic beats that fit well in to a style of music that I like. I was happy that all of the tracks were good. I could give this album a second listen.

I don't necessarily love how this album influence dso many artists and records that came later, but it's strikingly original .

Utterly terrible

Grew on me 2nd listen. Jangly, good snowboard video music.

It is me Kanye West - my intrusive thoughts are getting the best of me and on the 12th of May 2023 the beast will be released, album was shit btw 1/5 stars

The only thing I knew about Animal Collective was that their music was "experimental". I found myself surprisingly absorbed by the album. Nice soundscapes, good modern psychedelic music. 4/5 stars

Very trippy. Ethereal. Sort of reminded me of the spacey ness of some Bowie records and the youthfulness of a group love track.

I just felt like it was too much going on, didnt really like the mesh of instruments. Though it was an interesting listen, not my style.

Didn’t like

Musica densa, bien producida. Muchos sonidos y arreglos hacen música robusta, grandilocuente. El inicio es impactante pero el exceso continúa y se vuelve asfixiante. Creo que termina por saturar.

No me gusta nada que las voces son TODO el tiempo con ese efecto de coro que se pasa de etéreo y melódico. Tampoco me encantan los sonidos tipo 8-bit que están presentes en todas las canciones. Sí, tiene breves momentos en los que me alcanza a gustar, pero nunca lo suficiente como para buscar más de la banda o pensar en agregarlo a mi rotación. Interesantes experimentos y hasta ahí.

Experimental but in a bad way

At least the cover art is mildly diverting.

Little strange. Sort of background/mood music

Pretty chill and enjoyable.

Meh

2nd listen. Nothing really stands out to me as special.

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: My Girls, Also Frightened Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: This album gave me a headache, and I'm not talking about the cover art. Constantly squelching and booping and layering vocals and it doesn't feel like it'll ever end. I feel bad giving it a 1 because at least they tried to do something innovative and influential (and by all accounts it worked) but it made me angry having to sit through it.

Not my cup of tea, but I can see the appeal.

Awesome album. Really good songs with big synths and drums. Only real problem was that most of the time the lyrics are difficult to understand because they're drowned out by the instrumental, but still great. 8/10

Listened to the first 4 songs and didn't realised, that it was more than one ... Sounded somewhat replaceable and monotonous. Boring and kind of annoying to me. This album makes me regret giving a 2/5 to oher albums.

For some reason I can’t stand indie stuff from my 20s. This one was hard to sit through. Only my 2nd 1* in 125 albums.

Not for me. Not a fan of electronic music.

Not on nearly enough drugs to really enjoy this. I don't really like folk all that much and this is like folk-pop-electronic and it's just not for me.

I don't get it.

Un album sympathique mais très froid, un peu comme l'air qui soufflait dans mes cheveux tout au long de la promenade durant laquelle j'ai écouté celui-ci. J'ai d'ailleurs croisé plusieurs animaux parmi lesquels des chiens et des chevaux. Vous avez probablement eu connaissance du scandale auquel j'ai pris part et qui a été dénoncé par mon compagnon d'écoute et rival elpouletbasquaise. Voici ma version des faits. Vous savez comme moi que la dernière édition du grimoire de Robert contient désormais l'album Kiwanuka de Michael Kimanuka, projet que j'avais d'ailleurs déjà écouté avant qu'il ne soit introduit. Vous savez tout aussi bien que, pour pouvoir prétendre aux 1001 vierges promises par Robert au terme de la liste, il est interdit à quiconque d'écouter la moindre chanson issue de celle-ci. Et justement. Il y a quelques jours, la mère de ma famille d'accueil me demanda si je connaissais un certain Michael Kiwanuka. Je lui répondis que je le connaissais évidemment, tout au contraire d'elpouletbasquaise qui, soit dit en passant, est un odieux personnage. Prenant ma réponse affirmative pour une invitation à faire entendre l'un de ses morceaux, celle-ci lança l'un d'eux, à savoir Love & Hate. Je vérifiai comme à l'habitude que la chanson n'apparaissait pas dans son album générable, et une fois ceci fait, appréciai alors la musique l'esprit léger. Un rapide coup d'œil en direction de l'écran de téléphone duquel sortait le son me fit entrevoir la pochette de l'album interdit. Cette apparition totalement injustifiée me fit croire à une transgression des règles du générateur, j'appelai donc Robert pour implorer son pardon, sans savoir que j'étais dans mon droit. Robert me l'accorda mais promut elpouletbasquaise au rang de bras droit. Revenons maintenant à ma promenade. À mon retour, au moment d'insérer la clé dans la serrure, je m'aperçus qu'elle avait été forcée. J'entrai donc à mon domicile et rejoignis le salon. Quelle ne fut ma surprise de découvrir la mère de ma famille d'accueil ligotée sur le sol. Au niveau de sa tempe était dirigé un pistolet silencieux appartenant à l'inquiétant Norbert Episode (l'espion apparu dans ma critique de Destroyer de Kiss). Celui-ci rangea son arme, s'avança vers moi puis chuchota à mon oreille les mots suivants: « Revirements dentaires ». J'allai aussitôt me coucher en ressassant ce qu'il venait de me dire : « Revirements dentaires, revirements dentaires... Mais bien sûr ! "Revirements dentaires" était une anagramme de "Dernier avertissement"... » J'avais été menacé.

Je n'ai aucun souvenir de cet album, et pour cause, un événement tragique a eu lieu ce week end. Replongeons nous dans le contexte. Vous n'êtes pas sans savoir que mon camarade d'écoute, robsepulturière, a récemment pris un grand tournant dans sa vie. En effet, dans la continuité de l'emergence de ses idéaux musicaux extrêmes, il décidé d'emmenager en Allemagne pour se rapprocher de Kraftwerk et NEU75. Il faut savoir que rob, s'étant récemment fait virer de son cabinet d'avocats suite à ses prises de paroles musicales intempestives, est en grande difficulté financière. C'est pour cela que rob a choisi de vivre en famille d'accueil en Allemagne. C'est là, au sein de cette famille, que l'impesable va se produire. Alors que rob ouvrait la porte menant à l'intérieur du domicile de sa famille, il fut directement intercepté par la mère, horrifiée. En effet, cette dernière avait retrouvé un CD des Crusarders caché entre les chaussettes de rob. Pour "purifieren" rob selon ses termes, elle se décida à lui jouer une chanson de Michael Kiwanuka. Or, Michael Kiwanuka vien tde faire son entrer dans la liste des 1001 albums du générateur. Rob a donc brisé le serment générateurien, en écoutant une chanson n'ayant pas encore été générée... Mais ce n'est la que le début des rebondissements, la suite dans le prochain review.

Thought this was overrated at the time, opinion hasn't changed listening again.

An album born from ambition and technical prowess, but the unfortunate result is an album that's impossible to love. Let me elaborate. I came here knowing nothing about Animal Collective (after university I travelled the world for a decade, so when this came out I had no real desire to strain myself with maintaining a working knowledge of contemporary American indie trends), so this was my first experience of the group. Afterwards, I feel no internal clamour to make Animal Collective part of my life. Firstly, their aesthetic is wilfully garish and saccharine, but a conscious use of the garish and saccharine, whether sincere or ironic, is still garish and saccharine, and it will annoy those who have a distaste for the garish and saccharine, just as metal's aggressiveness and indelicacy alienates plenty of people. Secondly, I mentioned at the start that the album is ambitious, which is of course a highly loaded term. For instance, the choral singing constantly used on the album is a clear nod to the Beach Boys, but such an homage reveals irresolution as much as taste: are they complimenting the Beach Boys, or are they grasping for the trendiest ideas? I honestly can't tell you. Developing this Beach Boys comparison further, I don't think the melodies on this album are that memorable. Yes, I know there's also an unmelodic, glitchy rave aspect to this, but I think the desired result was to be a synthesis, not the actual unsatisfying compromise. This lack of memorable melody is what deflates the album, and I can't help feeling that the album was conceived as an exercise in cleverness rather than heart. For such a supposedly outgoing, emotive, happy band, I heard the faint clang of calculation in the background. Finally, on Guys' Eyes, one of the noises sounds like a fart. There are moments that appeal, and I accept that further listenings may increase my fondness for this, but I don't know if I want to devote any more of my life to Animal Collective. I'll give it three stars for effort (like I said, ambition has positive aspects, as well as negative ones), but that is partly bcause I want to be generous.

Definitely no.

Bon album indie rock/psychédélqiue. Pas nécessairement charmé mais à réessayer

A passive listen that really offers little.

Decent, at times wild electronic punkesque music

I...think I actually like this. Like, it's not amazing but it's engrossing enough in its weirdness to warrant further listening.

pretty groovy

One of the great albums.From the get go...the build up and the drums at 02:31 of 'In the flowers' and we are off!!inventive,hypnotic a new discovery every listen...great stuff altogether

Very interesting alternative album. Psycho, choir, classic synths - great

Put me in a terrible mood

Merriweather Post Pavilion is a good psych-electronica album that being sample heavy, it allows a creative flow of interesting soundscapes. Best: My Girls Worst: Lion in a Coma

4.6 + Listening to this album is like randomly bumping into an old flame. You remember how intensely you once felt even though those feelings have mellowed over time. You're left wondering why you were estranged. This album feels so wrapped up in a time and place. It's the full realization of the Animal Collective sound that should've influenced music to come but somehow didn't. What a great record, though. Beautiful songs that punch with strong emotion reinforced by walls of electronic sound that somehow sounds so human and organic.

Not worth the time it takes to listen to it. If you think you like this then you should really listen to something like Age of Adz to see what can be done in this genre. 1 star

Bi garipik var cozemedim

At the center of Merriweather Post Pavilion is a paradox: it is both wildly experimental (even avant guarde) and accessible and poppy. On the one hand, Animal Collective dispenses with traditional song forms almost entirely. These \"songs\" are driven by a combination of interlocking Beach Boys melodies and electronic pulses. Without song forms to anchor the cuts, they are oddly immersive. You experience them more than you listen to them. They are resistant to analysis. While it's true that there are elements of electronica, tribal beats, psychedelia, synth-pop, the sound Animal Collective comes up with here feels sui generis, as if it had always existed and Animal Collective had simply discovered it. Another thing that has to be said is that, although the music on Merriweather Post Pavilion is probably 90% samples, it has a watery, extraordinarily organic feel. It also exudes joy. And therein lies another paradox: even though Merriweather Post Pavilion is adventurous and filled with brilliantly executed ideas, I find it profoundly depressing. You see, I like traditional song forms and I don't much like electronica and dance music in general. And though it is outside the scope of this review, Merriweather Post Pavilion's post song outlook and emphasis on electronic pulses has been extremely influential in pop ever since, usually absent the skill and creativity of Animal Collective. Still, I must be honest and give Merriweather Post Pavilion a high score, in spite of my personal misgivings.

Reminded me of Flaming Lips crossed with the Beach Boys crossed with MGMT. Very groovy and exciting for the first few tracks but after a while the songs all sound the same, could do with a bit more variation.I enjoyed the last two tracks, No More Runnin and Brother Sport contrast really nicely. Good music for tidying your house.

Bit too random for listening

5 for weirdness, 3 overall

Love this. Music like this makes me listen attentively, and really think about how the hell they made it. I associate this album with big phase of musical discovery and expansion of my taste, constant gig-going in London, saw them in Brixton just after this was released. frantic, visceral, live, immediate, expansive. Listening to this again makes me feel really happy. It's been a while. Brother Sport is genius, its like a chaotic psychedelic club tune, the tension builds in the noise and instead of the beat dropping, the cheerful melody does !

I can appreciate psychedelic pop music, and I'm sure Animal Collective is a great act. I was excited to listen to this record because I saw it hyped as "one of the greatest albums of the '00 decade." Throughout listening to it though, I had very little to be excited about. "My Girls", "Blueish", "Brother Sport" are the defining moments of the album, but beyond that things start to blend and loose track of structure. The electronic vibrato that wavers in the background for every song never seems to dissipate - it's a constant state of drifting. For me, it just overshadows a lot of the other textures trying to cut through. I suppose this what excites the majority of this albums fans though, and this is the type of feeling they look for. It's just not an experience that catches me. I don't need catchy hooks or harmonic melodies to get me interested into the album, but when everybody compares this work to the psychedelic era of The Beach Boys, it's hard not to prepare for that. Overall, a fine work, but nothing I'll revisit. Favorite Track: Blueish Least Favorite: Daily Routine

A softer psychedelic album with a couple of bangers. 0RS

Good, not great.

I feel like giving this album a 5 would be too performative, but I really loved this album in college and there are some really good bangers on it. It's also pretty pretentious

I listened to this album a lot over the years. Even listened to it again last week. I think it came out the year I moved to Potsdam.

Nope!

dead

A classic dreamy fuzzy acoustic synth indie soundscape. long enough to slightly overstay its welcome.

This is very well crafted, complicated and a little bit too much. Maybe it gets more digestible with a few more listens.

Sounded like 3 alt J songs played at the same time. (Ellie and Ruks)

not for me

Perfect Psychedelic Pop. Vocals reminiscent of The Shins but the music is much more experimental and angular.

Indie que não empolgou e obviamente não incomodou.

Good Shit.

First listen really did nothing for me. I think this is one that will need to grow on me. Standouts: Summertime Clothes. Nice mix of interesting sounds.

Ik

Credit where credit is due, there are some vibey songs on this album, and this is one of the rare albums on this list that has better lyrics and vocals than instrumental. That being said, all the good songs are packed into the first half, and the rest of the songs are really just annoying noise with some words over them. Favorite track: Bluish

As good as I remember it being, for sure. An album I don't come back to nearly enough.

AC's best album and one of my all-time favorites. Here's a totally subjective track ranking: Brother Sport > My Girls > Bluish > Lion In a Coma > Summertime Clothes > Also Frightened > No More Runnin > Daily Routine > In the Flowers > Taste > Guys Eyes Also check out their Fall Be Kind EP for more of this style, especially What Would I Want? Sky and I Think I Can

A wonderful album of combined genres that makes this indie album stand out. An Co makes a nice trippy melodic album with this one. Their popular songs are synthy and up beat. I’d say this album is underrated amongst releases of the last 20 years. 7.9/10

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to this one straight through. Obviously some of their best songs are on here but I’m a little surprised at how well it’s held up.

Love this album, love the harmonies. I hear a lot of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys in this.

What is there to say about this album that hasn't already been said? It's one of the most inventive pop albums of all time and it has some of my favorite synth riffs and arpeggios of all time. The lyrics and general vibe create such a beautiful everlasting summertime vibe. There isn't a time where I would decline listening to Merriweather Post Pavilion in its entirety. Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Repetitive and grating.

It’s a good album. Chill and indie. The first time I actually heard a song from this album was when I was at this girls place I had a crush on in college.

really enjoyed the vibes from this album!!

I have quite the soft spot for the psychedelic pop that Animal Collective seems to energetically spew into the world. It's loud, bewildering, complex music with an energy that I can never quite put my finger on but personally cannot stop chasing. It's a thrilling album that continues to challenge 10 years later while never feeling overbearing. The groups masterpiece no doubt.

A really interesting sound. My Girls is obviously a great song, but there are many more throughout this album that I had never heard before.

It’s just noise

Not good. Repetitive indie weirdo garbage.

Already heard it. Will never, ever listen to this again.

Not their best work, but still a very sweet album with a unique, engaging sound.

Album čiji sam cover viđo bar 17 puta tjedno u PMC grupi prije par godina kad sam se učlanio tamo. Non stop to trljanje u nos da sam ga tada bio odlučio i poslušati. Inače sam dost veliki fan AnCo-a, pogotovo albuma kao što su Feels, Strawberry Jam i Sung Tongs. Ovaj album je isto dosta dobar, ljetna psihodelija koja vuče na pozitivnije trenutke. Odlične pjesme (bengeri) poput: Summertime Clothes, My Girls, Brother Sport te divnih pjesama poput No More Runnin', Daily Routine. Sve u svemu, album treba da klikne (bar je meni trebalo) jer sam ga pokušavao nekad davno više puta preslušati da vidim šta je tolko dobro u vezi albuma. Sada bolje kontam, i drago mi je da nije težak album kao što mi je bio. Živio AnCo <3

wow

Favourites: Little girl Manish boy Good songs in the álbum, but really long :( , nice álbum but I get a little bored with some songs.

Some bits are Sgt Peppers rip offs other Pet Sounds. All done really badly in a jingly indie style

Absolute crap. The half of it that isn't awful noise is twee garbage

Too experimental for my liking. Elements that I enjoy, but not for me

It was ok

Very interesting. No idea about genre lol

Just weird

Liked the sounds and instruments: heard some digeridoo-style noises, liked the bass lines. The vocals or lyric design let me down. And I'm sincerely doubting the digeridoo was anything other than a synth. I dunno. I think I'm learning that 'experimental' usually isn't my genre.

Pretty good indie rock album. A couple repetitive songs but enjoyed it overall

Ethereal and boring. Occasional 60s style, but mostly weird background noises.

Not really my thing at all, just a bit boring. Not awful but just not interested at all. 1/5

Delightful psychedelic pop. I need to give this a proper listen, I don’t think driving to work on my car speakers does it a justice.

Another I haven’t heard before but wish I had. Lots of layers of noise and feedback creating something quite unique

Albums like this make me think that the "before" in "1001 Albums to Listen Before You Die" in fact establishes a causal relationship, rather than a procedural one

Not my usual style of music but I enjoyed the entire album very much. Weird but just enough to make it interesting.

cool name. idk if i like the first 15 seconds tho.... i ended up quitting bc it was weirdly stressful

No me hace mucha gracia

Not a huge fan

I just don't get it. Boring and overrated.

Nope

This is very arty, not really in a good way. I can see why some people might be into this kind of thing, but it's doing nothing for me.

Tried but I've never found a way into Animal Collective. I remember thinking a decade ago this is a band I'm supposed to like, music people are supposed to like, indie people are supposed to like - probably around the time Pitchfork gave Merriweather a 9.8 or so review. Couldn't find a way in. I still feel the same way now. It's really well made, the production and structures are fantastic, hypnotizing, looping, swirling, disorienting like staring at the album art too long. I get the Pet Sounds comparisons. I just don't feel it. Best guess is that there's not much of a groove. These are mechanical, layered rhythms in a grid. Imagine Panda Bear booty dropping to any of these tracks. The other thing that comes to mind is the NYC indie community they came out of where bands were borrowing from global music. Their peers had an interesting take on "world" music and rhythms - pop/punk (Vampire Weekend), baroque (Dirty Projectors), religious (Yeasayer). Where you at AC? B

I’m a fan of Animal Collective. Their music is all at once elated, trippy, imaginative, childlike and oddly infused with nostalgia. This to me is what post modernist music should be. It’s the sensible trajectory for pop music to have taken. Jumbles of harmonic samples from the past, a full palette of noises gleaned from what exists. I really enjoy this album. It’s meditative and trance like. However, I find that it doesn’t reach the heights of the albums preceding it: Strawberry Jam and Feels, which both ultimately seem to have more concrete song construction, whereas this seems to flow meditatively from one song to another. This is definitely volume up, listen in a dark room, maybe while high, music. Or just sunny day music.

I have to be honest here. Animal Collective has never really blown my hair back. They've made some bangers for sure, but in general it's always been just background music to throw on when chilling around the house. Definitely some solid tracks on this album, but found my mind wandering pretty quickly by track 3. Maybe I need to drop acid and expand my consciousness in order to get it, who knows. But not really liking Animal Collective has always been my dirty little secret.

I hated it. I hated it when it came out and I hate it now.

Appreciate the creativity here but I’m not sure it was animal collective’s intention for people to listen to this without access to shrooms

I loved this, Animal collective is so weird and cool. This album reminds me of Age of Adz in a lot of ways. The second half is what really sold me on this, the first part up until Daily Routine was good felt a bit monotonous. 9/10

So good and groovy! Would love a relisten. 9

A masterpiece of folk psychedelica

i feel like i shouldnt like this album but i do its a bit weird but in a good way. on most of the songs the texture was a bit thick so i had to listen through headphones to hear it well

Awful. Made it through 3 songs before I turned it off. 1/5

Most songs have no noticeable structure, and all adopt that irritating "dream-sound"; a repetitive, unnatural, synthesized sound that goes throughout the track. I admit, I can see the musical promise in songs like "My Girls" and "Guys Eyes", but these songs sound like they have no cohesive direction to hold them together. I usually like original and I usually like different, but those two qualities alone don't make a song good and this allbum is the perfect example of that. 2/5

7. Might need to relisten since I did this across multiple stints of driving and navigating, but it seemed pretty good but nothing stood out

4.5

One of most innovative indie pop records from the first decade of 00s. Lots of psychedelic vibes and creative harmonies, although for my taste it clearly lacks melodies, being just an intriguing curiosity rather than a masterpiece.

The far-reaching effects of this album on pop in the last 10 years is wild. Very cool modern psychedelia.

"My Girls" Released: March 23, 2009 "Summertime Clothes" Released: June 29, 2009 "Brother Sport" Released: November 9, 2009

“Merriweather Post Pavilion” by Animal Collective (2009) Sometimes asking oneself “What the hell IS this?” prompts an exploration that yields unexpected (if unsurprising) insights. This album is a case in point. If you’re not familiar with this album or this musical style (as I am not), I recommend starting with track two, “My Girls”—it’s much more accessible than the opening track. Three guys, two of whom (I believe) operate twin sampling decks (probably mixed with each dominating one of the two stereo channels), and one in the middle on electronic keyboards. The lyrics are basically first person reflections of a family man who loves his wife, his children, his brother, and his now deceased father—wholesome affections seeking wise expression, and very conscious of his own personal responsibilities. The music is complex and innovative. Its central quality, however, is that is so extraordinary. If it ever becomes ordinary, it will age quickly and lose its power. Melodies studiously avoid the expected. Unremarkable voices, but arranged in harmonies that are attractive (Beach Boys comparisons are apt, especially on “Guys Eyes”—Beatles and Jane’s Addiction on “Taste”). Mechanical rhythms. Several tracks segue successively, rather than just break, giving the album a cohesion that fits well with lyrical thematic unity. But as long as you guys are sampling, you could have used some really cool African drums on “Lion in a Coma” and “Brother Sport”. This is the kind of album that will require time to fully appreciate, but likely worth it. 4/5

Interesting sounds but there weren’t many climactic or exciting moments to make the 5-6 minute songs more interesting. 7

Have always meant to check this band out. Sounds great and will require additional listens.

Decent

2.5 at best

This album is very, very good. I listened to the whole thing thinking it was by Glass Animals. It's not. It's by Animal Collective. These are two different bands. Glass Animals is better. But this album is very good.

J’ai bien aime en faisant le menage mais pas de reecoute. 2.75*

uh what?

Yeah, shimmery synth drones and Beach Boys-esque vocal harmonies and jangly psych biz. There are some definite 5 star tracks, but it's not quite consistent enough to get 5 stars overall. Fave track - "My Girls" - great tune!

It was okay. Maybe its better on psychedelics...

Fun! A psychedelic circus.

It’s ok. Got some cool psychedelia sounds. Not mind blowing, but pretty decent

“my girls” is still a thrill but the rest has not aged well. like a parody of the era’s indie sound

fun times

Ah yes, the college freshman bedroom poster album. It's actually pretty dang good, or is that just my nostalgia?

weird but cool

Very experimental. Which has led me to confirm it is the genre I understand the least. The weird yelling and singing vastly different tones and lines over each other,on top of the eclectic sounds is just confusing to me. I don't really get it and I'm sure this is something that I wouldn't seek out to listen to again. Not to say its all terrible i didn't mind "My Girls" but that was the extent of my enjoyment here.

Most modern album I've had so far

Yikes

Very 2009.

Very good art pop. A little out there but in a good sense.

I've never been able to get into them, but this time I enjoyed it. Might need to give some of their other stuff a listen

There are some pretty off the wall ideas and sounds over here but at its core this is just a really exuberant and danceable pop album, this Aussie gives it five McFeasts from Macca's out of five

A fantastic synth-filled romp – some definite duds in the tracklist bring this down a bit, but the freewheeling energy that permeates this LP is undeniably infectious. Particularly impressed how well most tracks function with minimal percussion (usually only relying on a handclap) while creating tight rhythms.

Really enjoyable listen, a few tracks that were mumbled thru, but overall a great experience. Should hunt down more Animal Collective!!

2/5

Okay-ish.

acid/alt/pop. This is MGMT on MDMA.

Pas mauvais!

Pretty good sound. I like it!

Not really my thing at all. Very whiney and weird

Some good songs, lots of obnoxious noises.

a nice crunchy little electronic album. reminds me of van morrison in the way they repeat everything and twist it till it's unrecognizable. lots of fun bug sounds, like bug wings almost? that's what it reminds me of. it requires a lot of investment to listen to it, but i like

really only listened to the first track and a half. Not sure what it is, just couldn't get into it. Maybe need the right setting?

Fun album, a lot going on here

just ok wouldn’t listen again though

I liked it.

Forgive me for my bias, because Animal Collective is one of my favorite bands and their 2000s run is everything I like about experimental music, but yeah this is kind of a masterpiece. If you don't see some beauty in the chorus of My Girls, I don't know what to tell you. It's an interesting progression into maturity to hear this band go from screaming about growing up, playing tribal tunes, and complaining about college to crooning about their desire for a simple life with a house and a wife but it's unmistakably still the same writers. Amazing production, amazing sequencing, amazing emotion, recommended for edgier fans of Brian Wilson.

helllllll yes dude i love this album!!!!! its like 1 of my favs. im like entirely unablle to write rn but this sxhit owbns. ethereal n gorgeoutd n psychedekiivc n shit. sorry thid is one handed im eating an apple rn. not my fav anco but top 5 4 sure

Very indie... hm.. too indie

this was wonky crap, just nothing really interesting going, meandering wuss-rock