Notofu.com: Animal Collective
Published by: Notofu.com
Date: December 8, 2009
Format: Web (www.notofu.com)
Type: Music Review
Fall Be Kind EP – Animal Collective
With Fall Be Kind, Animal Collective have released an EP of five songs that, while they could easily make sensible additions to this year’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, are, on the other hand, testament to the fact this is not a band interested in resting on its laurels. These songs show further, sometimes risky, but consistently rewarding steps in new directions for a band that has become known for its constantly evolving sound.
On much of Merriweather Post Pavilion, the band traded acoustic or “real” drums for synthesized drum sounds, and the addition or regression (as they were more prominent in the band’s earlier material) to those acoustic drums and metal cymbals alongside the synthesized ones is a clear hint of the band’s new sound.
Fall Be Kind opens with “Graze,” a song that picks up when a sampled flute takes on the role of carrying the melody. It’s light and airy and offsets the big drums, synth sounds and vocals that move along with it. The flute also serves to remind us that this isn’tMerriweather Post Pavilion Pt. 2, but something separate and different altogether.
The EP’s second track, “What Would I Want? Sky,” is the standout here, and possibly the group’s best track from either of its releases this year. It strikes a perfect balance of experimentation while, at the same time, dripping with excess pop sensibility. The song begins with a minute of atmospheric noises before drums and a bass line enter. It then builds, adding distant vocals and textural sounds that are kept slightly lower in the mix, thereby planting a curious sense of anticipation. Then, after almost everything drops out for nearly a minute, the band is back in – and they are just about perfect. There is a soft, inviting groove to the beat that’s matched with vocal hooks and bright, melodic instrumental touches. If another band attempted this sort of soft rock throw back, they might be hard pressed to pull it off, but the effort sounds as though it comes so natural for Animal Collective.
The remainder of the EP has a more ethereal and subdued aura, appropriating Fall Be Kindwith a cloudy feeling of altered reality. This feeling is really what defines these five songs as a whole. The songs that don’t remain in this hazy state (the first two tracks) begin in this way for at least their first halves.
Fall Be Kind may be made up of songs that didn’t make it onto Merriweather Post Pavilion, but it stands on its own, completely free and clear of the shadow that has been cast by what many consider to be on of this year’s best full-length albums. It shows that a band who is committed to changing is doing just that and not sacrificing or making exceptions in the process. It also screams to anyone who may have been wondering that Animal Collective can write spot on pop songs in the midst of their groundbreaking experimentation.
4.5/5