Weekly Release Spotlight: Animal Collective

Posted on 12/28/2009

Animal Collective

Fall Be Kind [EP]

[Domino]

To the casual listener, Animal Collective's music can seem like a nebulous jungle of samples, droning and distorted vocals. Yet over the band's decade-long career, these young men from Baltimore have somehow managed to infiltrate the collective psyche of a generation of music fans, making them some of the most important and relevant artists of the era. So what is it about these hazy, dreamlike songs that resonates so well with hipsters, misfits and frat boys alike? Maybe it's that when you listen and really pay attention to Animal Collective, it's like hearing your own heartbeat. The music is rhythmic and reliable, yet at the same time a purely emotional, primal, almost out-of-body experience. You don't have to be cool or artsy to "get it" – you just have to be human. Given this effect, it's no surprise that iTunes describes Fall Be Kind's genre as "unclassifiable."

The last few years have marked a new direction in the band's career. Guitarist Deakin went on hiatus after 2007's Strawberry Jam and subsequent releases have been written for a mostly guitarless lineup and are driven mainly by samplers. The result is layers of melodic sculpture coupled with the band's signature candid commentary on everyday life. "What Would I Want? Sky," a live staple, finally gets a proper release on Fall Be Kind and serves as an anchor to the EP (it also includes the first-ever legal Grateful Dead sample). The most experimental track on the record, "Bleed," gives way to the excellent "On a Highway," a song suggestive of Syd Barrett or the more organic moments of Brian Eno.

While only five songs long, Fall Be Kind still strengthens the argument that a few high school friends fooling around with samplers can change the musical landscape forever. The band's long-awaited visual album, ODDSAC, will premiere at Sundance this year and can only serve to expand the band's impression on minds and hearts around the world. Other artists may attempt such depths, but no one in recent history has mastered the art like Animal Collective.

Written by Dana Raidt, Radio K volunteer.