by Justin Weber
I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to listen to a timeless album when it was first released. I’ve listened to Revolver, Pet Sounds, and many more. They are great albums now, but what did the people think when they were first released? Well now I know.
Merriweather Post Pavilion is a spectacular record. The blogs, magazines, and talking heads are justified when they say this is already the best album of 2009. There’s still a long way to go, but the case for Animal Collective is a strong.
What’s more impressive is that they delivered in the face of tremendous hype and expectation; the kind of expectation that is impossible to meet.
How does an album meet impossible expectation? With flawless production, stellar composition, and perfect execution.
The production avoids being overly shining. These tracks a drenched in sunlight and warmth and the post-production doesn’t reflect that light but allows it to soaked in by the listener. Many electronic, dance, and pop records give the music an untouchable, glistening quality that makes for a great external experience. MPP works its way into you. After you’ve soaked it all up, it’s clear that it’s a very internal experience.
Beautiful harmonies, thick layers, useful repetition, and seamless transitions are all par for the course on an Animal Collective album. The band never loses a step in its composing skills. If you’re new to Animal Collective, it may seem like there is too much going on but everything is in its right place. On MPP, Animal Collective does a great job of guiding the ear of the listener by using a pyramid effect to add and remove layers of sounds revealing exactly how everything fits.
Nothing I have written so far is particularly new for an Animal Collective. They’ve just polished the production and composition to perfection. So what puts MPP in “Greatest Record of Year (maybe decade (maybe ever!))” discussions? It’s the first Animal Collective record that I feel the urge to sing along with. I can’t hear “My Girls”, “Taste”, “Lion in a Coma”, or “Also Frightened” without wanting to jump in and sing along with Avery Tare and Panda Bear.
MPP starts the year off right. I hope this is a signal of things to come and ’09 becomes one of the greatest years in music history, but it will be hard to top Animal Collectives outstanding effort.
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