Initial Thoughts: Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind EP

It seems funny that Animal Collective choose to release their music for the grimmest of months. January and December – the start of winter and the end of warmth. Their songs are sun-appropriate, uplifting, life-affirming and yet every time I listen to ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’, it works best when I’m chilly. ‘Fall Be Kind‘ sweetly infuses abstract patterns with the deep bass notes and striking vocal harmonics that helped define the previous album. Only on ‘Fall Be Kind’ we get to see a real significant shift towards less pacey, pop-orientated territory. It’s not their most accessible work to date – ok, it’s nothing on the band’s early material, but it certainly falls back on old times after the infectious instant likability of ‘MPP’ allowed certain “sell out” accusations to gather force.

In many ways these songs sound more comfortable when associated with ‘Feels‘; they’re elongated, evolving and far from straight to the point. Opener ‘Graze‘ allows an almighty sound shift in its latter half, from smooth, deep cries of triumph to tip-toeing percussion and a tribal party spirit. This isn’t quite ‘Feels’ with more gadgets though: ‘What Would I Want? Sky’ is very much amongst the three-piece’s latest work, crafting a Grateful Dead sample with an exquisite vocal performance from Avey Tare. There are lyrics, there’s a hook that keeps and it’s all formed with samplers. This is more Brothersport than Leaf House.

But it’s still a sure-fire exit from the material of late. And that sort of move could be judged as moronic or merely, the right thing to do. Animal Collective are never going to be chart toppers. More likely, they’ll be a group looked upon in decades to come as innovators, opinion-splitters, forward-thinkers. And so to continue upon this route of shortening the song length, tightening the ropes, would be a poor choice. After all, when have Animal Collective ever decided to stick to the same sound over the course of more than one release? Never.

Initial thoughts rating:

8.5

Take Three
- Graze
- What Would I Want? Sky
- I Think I Can

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