ALBUM REVIEW: Official Secrets Act – Understanding Electricity
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Can I get this out of the way first? I can? Good. ‘The Girl From The BBC’ – that’s the most recent single from Official Secrets Act, in case you’re wondering - is awful. In fact, the best thing about this song, with its irritating lyrics (‘I like her, she likes me’ – that’s the chorus. Well done. Now shut up.) and general forgettability, is when it finishes. Harsh, yes, but I really don’t see how this could be considered a good advertisement for the album. At all. It’s a relief, then, that there are more hits here than misses, and that ‘…BBC’ is the worst thing on offer here.
What’s interesting is that this can be seen as a record of two halves. One half is your upbeat indie-pop side, and the other is your darker, more introspective side. This has effects on ‘Understanding Electricity’, both good and bad. Opener ‘Mainstream’ showcases OSA’s strengths, and is a great track, with an anthemic feel to it. Bass-driven ‘So Tomorrow’ follows, probably the catchiest thing on offer here, and that really is saying something, as this album is a hook-laden affair. “Everything’s better with a girlfriend / Who is ten times cooler than you are” – so lead singer Tom Charge Burke reckons, at least.
‘Little Birds’ sounds like it is going to be a downbeat track at first, but soon picks up, allowing Burke to showcase his voice – “You cry for the night to arrive, and you cry for the morning”. Next up is ‘Hold The Line’, and I must say, the verse melody is brilliant. The lyrics here are some of the best on the album – “As the world collapses around our ears / I play guitar to Tears for Fears” – made me smile, at least. 
Halfway there, now, and album centrepiece ‘A Head For Herod’ tells us that ‘Understanding Electricity’ is switching gears. A more laid-back affair, with the focus, this time, on Alex McKenzie’s drumming, which is simple, yet effective. This sounds quite like ‘Sing’-era Blur, although I’m also hearing some Interpol in this track, would you believe. It is a stunning listen, all six-and-a-half minutes of it.
‘Bloodsport’, another bass-driven track, albeit a much darker affair than ‘So Tomorrow’, shows us another side of Official Secrets Act, a side that I’d like to see more of in future.
‘Under the Flightpath’, the album’s closing track, sounds almost jazzy in places, another track that allows Burke’s vocals to take centre stage. Underpinned by some great drumming and a loping bass line, over the course of its six minutes it manages to continue building, yet restrains itself, leaving as quietly as it arrived.
This is an album that requires multiple listens. I should know; I dismissed it as bog-standard indie pop at first, but it revealed itself to me over time, and is continuing to do so. There’s something for everyone here, whether you prefer the instantly gratifying, or the slow-burners. This is a much more diverse album than it seems at first glance, and what’s more, it is a very good one. I’ll be keeping my eye on this lot.
7.3
Official Secrets Act – So Tomorrow (zShare)
G U N G
H O
ALBUM: Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream
words: Jamie Milton
As much as you may or may not dislike it, you’re going to hear the names Empire Of The Sun and MGMT in the same sentence, more times than you can shake a stick at, over the next 12 months. Sound-wise, there’s merit for comparison. This Bowie-inspired reign of folk psychedelia is trumping all other genres for the time being. Call Luke Steele a bandwagon-jumper if you want, because frankly he is. But for a man who’s already done his time with The Sleepy Jackson, you can’t blame the bloke for having a stab at success.
Success is very much on the cards. Mentioned in all parts this January as the next big thing, tipped to take every festival around by storm this summer, Steele and his weirded-out companion Nick Littlemore tick all the boxes for summertime triumph. Trust EMI to latch onto it, trust EMI to make a couple of high-budget videos in Shanghai and Mexico and trust EMI to plug the band in every single country. They need this as much as Luke Steele does. And you can hear the desperation scattered in all places on ‘Walking On A Dream’, for this is what stains what could have been, with more time and more care, a fantastic debut album.
You can totally picture the scene; Steele and Littlemore sweating it out in some pricey studio, on their hands and knees, being forced to continue via. whipping from the heads of the record company. “Faster! Faster!” Demands Guy Hands, “Before psychedelic pop loses its appeal again!”
The first half of ‘Walking On A Dream’ is silky, glossy, rich in ideas and a soothing summer sound. Everything works. The first four tracks stop you in your tracks, each with a thrilling, original melody that could ruthlessly reach any official top 10 if it tried hard enough. Maybe EMI had heard enough four tracks in, convinced that they were onto a winner. Commupence
for them as the second half sounds ridiculously rushed, unbearable at times in its lack of clean melody and complete absence of the authenticity that shone in the first half. I’d like to know if there is a story behind it because it’s so, so puzzling to hear an album with such momentum, fall flat on its face with a blink of an eye.
By the time ‘We Are The People’ fades out, you’re overwhelmed at the consistency that’s stood firm throughout the spacey, dancey opener ‘Standing On The Shore’, the equally warm and rich title-track, the camp yet delightful ‘Half Mast’ and the album highlight, the final destination for the good guys, ‘We Are The People’. ‘Delta Bay’ interrupts proceedings with an ugly line of feedback. Sounding as if Steele’s had Santogold’s debut on his iPod for too long, whilst Empire… could have been seen as precocious and a big money-grabbing scam of an act simply on merit of their first two singles, here’s confirmation of just that. Every hot, hyped sound that the masses rejoiced in 2008 has its place in the record. Sure, this album itself was originally out in October last year but that only confirms the point that this debut sounds rushed, far too eager to hook onto the passing train of buzz-worthy acts. Whilst ‘Delta Bay’ could initially be regarded as a stumbling block, a dreary ‘The World’ and quite possibly one of the most damn-awful songs written during the 21st century ‘Swordfish Hotkiss Night’ add to the list of negatives. The latter is such a contrast to the smooth tones oozing out of the first two tracks, with its stop-start, hard-hitting rhythms, you wonder where it all went wrong…
Maybe, just maybe, it’s part of one big plan. The album cover, the dressing, all suggest ambition, to a mighty scale. Maybe it was in their heads that they could lure a fair few in with their debut, sell lots of records and then produce a much more consistent, life-changing second album. Maybe not. Truth is, ‘Walking On A Dream’ begins to falter when you first see Luke Steele in a different light, as someone money-grabbing, desperate to make something cool and sell-worthy. Then onwards, it never finds its feet again.
S N O W S
JANUARY – A SUMMARY
words: Jamie Milton
It’s true that I have been told by many that there’s a little feminine side just waiting to burst of me. That’s rubbish. This was dismissed when I tried to keep a diary for 2009 and failed after two days, with a couple of notes about football matches dominating the page. New Years Resolution’s which have already been completely forgotten about haven’t been put into action. There was the one about being less lazy in general and judging from my wardrobe that’s not quite happening. The blog’s still getting its fair share of attention though and maybe that’s because January has been pretty remarkable in terms of albums. Whilst most of us were complaining about the sub-par standard of music in 2008, a few new year gems were already passing us by.
First and foremost we had Animal Collective returning to the scene. That went down quite the treat with us, dis, pitchfork, nearly everybody who reviewed the album. ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ continues to get better and better, it’s currently preventing brand new releases from sharing some precious stereo-time. Another welcome return came via. Franz Ferdinand. With added groove and cool came a third album oozing with childishness but in terms of sound, maturity. Andrew Bird also emerged once more with a sure-fire way to ease you into the day with ‘Noble Beast’. Antony Hegarty returned after a lengthy gap between solo work with something equally as remarkable as previous albums. ‘The Crying Light’, when it shines, becomes something that no other solo artist would ever come close to topping.
New bands were in the middle of most of our music-based conversations this month. Now that we’ve mentioned a fair few and now that you’ve picked your favourite, we can easefully sit and watch them grow into formidable artists. A couple of new acts already arrived with a debut; Pains of Being Pure At Heart took me back to a time before I was ever born with their retro scope of sounds. Amongst the fuzz and the sub-basking atmosphere was a whole lot of character. White Lies were on the wrong side of some critical bashings which above all, were mildly amusing but pretty needless. Let’s put things into perspective, the band receiving this kind of hate that White Lies have been most recently, this time last year were the Ting Tings. White Lies are heads and shoulders above those twits, making some pretty good music, making all the negative comments pretty unfair and hasty.
January’s picks, in score order:
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion – 9.6 (Jamie’s Review)
White Lies – To Lose My Life – 9.0 (Cal’s Review)
Antony & The Johnsons – The Crying Light (Jamie’s Review)
Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: – 8.1 (Jamie’s Review)
Pains of Being Pure At Heart – S/T – 8.0
Telepathe – Dance Mother – 7.4 (Jamie’s Review)
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast – 7.0 (Jamie’s Review)
YR ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (37% of vote)
MFM TRACK OF THE MONTH: Telepathe – So Fine (zshare)
by the way, we do have a twitter.
WE HAD TWITTER BEFORE IT WENT MAINSTREEEAM MAN
T H E
O L D E R
G E T
Y O U N G E R
ALBUM: Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
words: Jamie Milton
mid pic: martec
Usually Andrew Bird’s album titles don’t quite reflect the sound packed inside his works. You couldn’t quite hear the sound of a mysterious production method of Chicago’s finest eggs in 2005, nor could you hear the familiar hum of ‘Armchair Apocrypha’ in 2007, let alone even knowing what on Earth it meant…But with ‘Noble Beast’ you can hear it, you can picture it and you can warm to it. Packed inside yet another long-spanning Andrew Bird record is something beast-like but at the same time; friendly, respectful and very much noble.
Acquainted with Bird’s seven previous studio albums or not, ‘Noble Beast’ becomes a predictable affair from the off. But don’t call that a criticism like it perhaps normally would be. With Andrew Bird all you ask for is a good tune and for the majority of the time, at the core of this album is a soothing melody, ready to wrap its cuddly arms around you. Without breaking any ground, this album is equally crammed with whistles and uniquely-plucked acoustics – elements that set Bird apart from his contemporaries in the first place. ‘Masterswarm’ has all the right tools for the job. Gentle but infectious, Bird’s voice sounds sophisticated, swimming comfortably between spirited string sections and tamely tapped percussions, all help together with the perfect whistled tune.
Sole problem being…there are several remaining songs on the album that could carry the same description. Granted, they each become more identifiable with extra list
ens but an easy-going opening to the record never kicks off, regardless of play count. But it wouldn’t be Andrew Bird if the music you were listening to remained samey throughout. ‘Not A Robot, But A Ghost’ is a daring affair, adjusting tempo drastically in comparison to the majority of ‘Noble Beast’ and never getting old thanks to a gloriously reflective drum-less mid-section. Many will be aware of this already but as the album unfolds, Bird becomes more conscious that he needs to keep things new, and he does so expertly. An almost Moroccan vibe opens ‘Anonanimal’ before adjustment is made in a string-led middle section, Bird muttering “I know this one, I love this song“. ‘Noble Beast’ persists that you keep listening, every time you begin dozing off to its dreamy charms.
Occasionally Bird goes off on a tangent, lyrically in particular. His complicated theories written out as poetry can put you off but it’s then that you focus on the blissful background noise, which is guaranteed to be of a good standard.
And it might take endurance, good-will even to get through ‘Noble Beast’ just that one more time, but appreciation of the album is consistently advanced. At its worst, the album merely sinks away into something meaningless and unimportant to you but at its best, you’re treated to the sound of an artist on their finest form.
7.0
mp3: Andrew Bird – Anonanimal (zshare)
B I T I N G
H A R D
ALBUM: Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
words: Jamie Milton
The class of ‘04-’05. British indie arrived in masses. Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand. The genre is now of old due to meddling inferiors churning their way through one mediocre record after the other and pop’s pathetic attempt at incorporating its appeal into something even more marketable. Point is, this class we’re speaking of have had to adapt to survive. Kaiser Chiefs were lucky. They changed little and have grown in repute and riches. Bloc Party attempted to create something bold and new, loyal fans got more loyal but they also got a lot of hate from cynics and non-fans. Franz Ferdinand however came a little bit before the other two. They needn’t have shifted their sound until just about now. Now because indie is quite frankly, on its last legs.
Change has come. The sparkling electro grooves that were hinted at in ‘Outsiders’, from Franz’s last album, and countless interviews thereafter, is actually here. At one point, you lose yourself in nothing but gadget-fused euphoria, the closing period of ‘Lucid Dreams’ gives you a thunderous bolt of shock the first time you wander into its merciless territory. This can’t be Alex Kapranos and his Scottish pals. can it? Well, maybe it makes sense. Indie had always been around before 2004; The Libertines were probably more responsible for the dirge of circa-2007/08 indie courtesy of The Enemy and The View than any of our “class”. Franz ticked a new box, gave us something new with their catchy hooks that “girls can dance to”, combined with iconic Stalin-era imagery. And so it seems about right that they’ve managed to make their sound a little more obtuse.
That’s not to say ‘Tonight:’ buzzes with electro in its entirety. Guitar is still where the band find their comfort zone; ‘Bite Hard’ reflects its title through a ferocious guitar-driven flame and the dreamy acoustic closer, ‘Katherine Kiss Me’, is arguably the record’s greatest asset. But even through a more “traditional” scope of sounds, the album regularly makes checks to see if it’s still thinking outside the box. Nothing is bog standard, everything dodges predictability. “You can turn my dirty word, the right way round” declares Kapranos during the cheeky, 70’s-inspired ‘Twilight Omens’, an example of Bob Hardy’s more significant role in the band’s work than previous. His bass grooves hold the record together, giving each track a more light-hearted outlook. Even ‘Ulysses’, the lead-single, the song deemed by the record company as the biggest breadwinner, is completely different. “Last night was wiiiiild” whispers Kapranos in spectacularly arousing fashion, behind an edgy and somewhat simplistic bass-plus-drum background.
Cynics will most likely go as far as proclaiming tracks as poorly written, with no appealing melody such as those on the band’s previous two albums, with the use of electro cleverly disguising the weakness of songs. You could see where said cynic is something from initially, ‘No You Girls’ and ‘What She Came For’ are underpinned by practically the same bassline, suggesting a real lack of ideas. But keep returning to ‘Tonight:’ and you submit love and passion in the way that the record does to you, albeit with subtlety.
“I’ve found a new way”, declares ‘Ulysses’ with pride . It’s a fitting statement for just what Franz have achieved with their third album. With indecision on how to record this album, a block of new ideas might have come with that too for the Glasgow four-piece but by the end of the strenuous process, they came good.
8.1
mp3: Franz Ferdinand – Bite Hard (zshare)
[BUY 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand:']
C A L I F O R N I A
K I D
ALBUM: Wavves – Wavvves
words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for gigwise
The storm’s been brooding for some time. Now it arrives. When No Age stepped on the punk scene, hailing from The Smell, a throbbing live venue home to not just the LA two-piece but fellow neighbours; Mika Miko, Abe Vigoda and HEALTH, they, along with their contemporaries, gave us something new. The dreadful stench of under-production and raw attitude filled up the music industry and continues to do so. Whilst the new age of punk isn’t a sure-fire way of selling lots of records, it’s beginning to spread, forming something rather special. So far it’s made its way from one district of California to another, LA to San Diego. It’s sitting with Nathan Williams, aka. Wavves, who right now, is creating one of the most ferocious sounds that’s ever hit his home state.
His second album comes at a time of heavy blogosphere attention, endless amounts of it. Anticipated for many months now, this pretty-much self-titled follow-up is a sign of intent, an indication of where Williams can go. At first he indicates little nothing but ambience in opener ‘Intro Goth’. A stumbling loop, akin to something you’d find on Ratatat’s sampler, lulls you into a false sense of comfort and ease, before all hell breaks loose before you. ‘California Goth’ merges an unhealthy Hellish groove with a contrasting summery atmosphere, one that repeats itself throughout the record. Hearts beat at illegal speed, guitars brave it out for another minute, hig
her in energy than before. Alongside this is a self-titled track, equally as ambitious and equally as narrow in the conventional Wavves sound of fierce bass, fierce feedback, fierce production all whilst a distinctive “wa-o-waa-o” melody is yelped out to add a human element that the track would’ve lacked.
Sport-spanning track after the other, it’s far too easy to jump into the album when it speeds past. The mystical side we got used to during the record’s opener is repeated during ‘Space Raider’, which is basically used as a tool to break the ferocity of the album’s majority in two, as breathing space is no doubt required after the peak of intensity during ‘Lover’, a song short of dominant melody but buzzing like no time before. A summertime spirit is outlined further on, most notably during ‘Side Yr On’ and it’s more mid-tempo follower, ‘Beath Goth’, a track that opens with glorious guitar delay and craftily pounded drums. When pace is varied, ideas progress and the album sounds more capable of achieving brilliance. ‘The Boys Will Love Us’ comes at a convenient time, moving onwards from an uncensored outburst of energy to a more sensible approach towards the grungy punk sound.
And when Williams adjusts his output, the results get finer. A consistently-deployed wave of punk goes from nonsense to nostalgic, reminding you of the finer previous summers, all through a simple change in sound through the tracklisting. ‘Wavvves’ never falters. Neither do you, infact. Once immersed into the album, punk, a genre renowned for its simplicity, suddenly becomes an intellectual being, all thanks to one guy on a skateboard.
8.0
mp3: Wavves – California Goth (zshare)
[buy 'Wavvves']
D A Y L I G H T
K I S S E S
E V E R Y T H I N G
ALBUM: Antony & The Johnsons – The Crying Light
words: Jamie Milton
‘Hope There’s Someone’ is fast becoming a common song to play at funerals. Antony Hegarty, the voice behind the tearjerker, doesn’t make too much of that. “It’s a song for the living, not a tribute to the dead,” he told the Guardian a month back. Thing is, those playing the song for a loved one are only choosing it for one reason: because it can make a grown man cry. It’s the combination of Hegarty’s deep, soulful voice with inclusion of a soft, chiming piano, and nothing else. That’s what makes it so moving and with a song like that, you shouldn’t have to find the true meaning in it, you should just let it do what it pleases to you. Many people hate Antony & the Johnsons purely on the basis of that song. Others seek refuge from a hard day in its gentle warmth. And whether Antony realises it or not, people will tackle ‘The Crying Light’ with a similar attitude to how they took to his breakthrough song. And once again, it’ll make them cry.
But meanings are easier to seek out with this album. Maybe because of what Antony’s revealed in his interviews, or maybe it’s the feeling you eventually get from hearing this downbeat, truly depressing beginning turn into a triumphant glow of self-affirmed glory, Hegarty never sounding so obviously happy. In his third album, he becomes the honest figure instead of a star who shadows himself in his identity and interests. Here, we see his personality. For such a large part of you record, you feel you can understand the man, someone who’s most likely the complete opposite to you. When he breaks free from routine to triumphantly gasp “that man I love SO MUCH” in ‘Aeon’, you feel like he’s only centimetres from the side of you, giving everything he has to you. It’s such an integral segment of the album, so unexpected it makes you gasp in surprise. Then comes the shivers.
It’s refreshing to hear Antony back behind his piano, with little else to focus on. A full band appear regularly, perhaps preventing the open stance Hegarty takes from becoming too much to take, by adding a less personal touch with their soothing instrumental parts. Last year, we found Antony surrounded by disco balls and electronic grooves. It gave us one of the most enjoyable listens of 2008, shedding a whole new light into his already impressive career, but it also forced us to want the more exposed, heartfelt side of him return to the limelight.
The four year wait has been worth it. Hegarty swings between positive and negative emotions, from the saddening opener ‘Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground’ to that testament of the steps he’s taken in ‘Aeon’, he never falters in exposing a feeling we weren’t expecting to be introduced to. It’s his most sensible, mature work to date and the perfectly-produced full band parts reflect this. He freely gives an almost foreign, unheard of sound in ‘Dust And Water’ one minute, and then the next he returns to delicate tones in closer ‘Everglade’, with a plethora of strings and horns progressing the song from sitting pretty as a traditional ballad.
A tribute to Kazuo Ohno, a figure commonly associated with a dance form (Butoh) Hegarty has fallen in love with, the album hits its peak early on during ‘Epilepsy Is Dancing’ and in similar style to the form of dance, its free movement is where the appeal stems from. “Cut me in quadrants, leave me in the corner” pleads Antony during the opening stage of the album in which it hasn’t yet taken off into it’s positive vibes. A tender build-up only adds to this and you get the feeling Antony knows it.
He probably knows exactly what sort of an impact ‘The Crying Light’ will have on us all. As much as he’d cower at the idea, its greatest moments will be played at funerals to commence the waterworks. But other listeners will do nothing but respect the incredible structure the album has; songs sound so organised, so practised. Four years it may have taken but you’d be willing to wait a decade for Antony to top this.
8.4
mp3: Antony & The Johnsons – Daylight and the Sun (zshare)
[buy 'The Crying Light']
M I N D B L O W N
ALBUM: Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
words: Jamie Milton
initial thoughts review
‘brothersport’ track review
Ever see that evolution of dance video? Of course you did. It gave us a comical but all the more fascinating insight into just how much one thing can change. So how about pop music? Whoever’s been at its helm over the last 50/60 years since it emerged as the dollar’s genre of choice has done something different, adjusting it into something fresh and exciting, always at a stage when the chances of said occurring look pretty slim. I won’t declare pop to be in a fragile state currently but with this “80’s revival” having just gone a little bit too far, “it’s time for change”. And it’s really quite brilliant that the ones that look to have done a master-stroke in perhaps changing the genre once more are one of the most alternative, experimental acts around today.
Let’s not get out of our depth by calling ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ a pop record. It might be Animal Collective’s most commercially-inclined work to date but it doesn’t consistently follow pop conventions or most essentially, ask for your money. Instead it inhales the finer things of the genre, as well as many others, and the album’s output is a well-bred combination of its input in the form of a dense multiplier of new ideas through hefty use of sampling and dreamy electronically enhanced vocal melodies. And you can imagine “forward-thinking” pop artists taking note right now.
Animal Collective’s appeal has always been that they’ve thought outside the box. And for their standards, ‘Merriweather…’ is their least groundbreaking work to date, from an outsider’s view. Nothing makes you uncomfortable or nervy like ‘Strawberry Jam’ or ‘Sung Tongs’ could and nothing sounds so drastically different that the preferable option is to just stop listening instead of immersing yourself in what could turn out to be something brilliant. Instead, this time the three-piece (excluding “Deakin” on this occasion) have merged previous ideas whilst coming up with something entirely new. And it’s really hard to tell quite how they did it.
We’ve seen hints of what’s become on ‘Merriweather…’ before; through their emergetic live shows and in particular, Panda Bear’s very own ‘Person Pitch’, an album that completely out-did Avey Tare’s solo work in terms of critical acclaim, songwriting quality, everything. In ‘Summertime Clothes’ you get given a chance to recite the 30° heat and the relaxation that I at least, associated so fondly with Noah Lennox’s creation. Jerky electronics emerge shortly after a dictaphone-sample of waves, children; you can always picture smiles. And ‘Daily Routine’, a slightly darker affair, was originally set aside as a Panda Bear song for future works. You just get the idea that the band all had a sit down and raised the issue; “Hey Noah, you don’t suppose you could give us any ideas, do you?”
Preferably you should be listening to the record accompanied by basking sunlight and dense beaches but that’s obviously hard to come by unless you’re from Australia at the moment. But you do occasionally get the feeling that we might just had the “sound of the summer” already without realising it. With a freezing cold window and far-too-thin curtains by your side, the album doesn’t have such an impact as a cloudless blue sky would. That’s not to say you can’t enjoy the work whatsoever; just perhaps not to the same extent. All the less, energetic highlights (‘Brothersport’ and ‘My Girls’) combine with ambient drones of calm (‘No More Runnin’, the climax of ‘Daily Routine’) into an album so narrow in scope of sounds but so adventurous in ideas.
It’s difficult to pick a favourite mood or even a favourite song, at that. A combination of two might just be an answer to that. ‘Daily Routine’ begins with a crunching, dis-jointed organ line before emerging into a combination of heavy beats and rhythmically-aware vocals from Panda Bear. It further progresses into a blissfully, increasingly abstract wave of noise before eventually closing to the sound of a siren. That’s a lot to get your head round in six minutes. The soothing yet fidgety number ‘Bluish’ is equally ambitious in its meeting of both relaxation and eagerness, with similarly impressive results. But it is the fire-starting frenzied side of the record that stands head and shoulders above all – ‘Brothersport’, ‘My Girls’ and the sheer intent during the climax of ‘In The Flowers’ kick you into action, require your attention; they’re the ones that really make an impact. The opener commences in a sort of hungover-state; dreamy and not quite with it entirely. But the latter half of the song is a wiping away of any doubts fans had towards the album, a confirmation of the ridiculous level of buzz surrounding the band, all through the form of a joyful clenched fist of electronic rage. Thenafter, there’s never a dull moment, especially not in closer ‘Brothersport’, which almost provokes an out-of-body experience. It gets you that carried away.
And so the only thing left to say is some sort of over-blown statement about how this album will change the world. Go ahead, call it your favourite album of all time. Go ahead, call it worthy of a 9.6 from the influential Pitchfork. Go ahead, call it undoubtedly one of the best albums of the 21st century. You might even be right when we look back on this.
9.5
mp3: Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes (zshare)
[buy 'Merriweather Post Pavilion']
MFM @ HYPEM
