ANIMAL
COLLECTIVE
feels
CD/2LP, Fat Cat
After all that has been said about the Animal Collective,
about their bandstructure, their earlier albums and in advance to their
upcoming releases, it seems to me that things have to be really thought over
once again, because “feels” is likely to be a big step in a new
direction. Less musically, but structurally, but carry with me and I’ll
tell you what I mean in a nutshell: Animal Collective have sharpened their act and
are now more a band than ever before. The songs on “feel” have all the
loose ends of earlier days rolled up into a nice, soft bundle of melodies
and instruments. The craziness and chaos in their songstructures and
recordings is gone; though it has remained in the sounds and arrangements.
Maybe they were able to get to work more concentratedly when they had
spilled their energies and weirdness in various solo-projects,
or maybe they just wanted to settle down a little after constant touring. In
other words: this record smells like what The Flaming Lips could be today if
they hadn’t grown old and healthy.
“Feels” is not just another “amazing travel
through musical history” like their first records had been slandered (by
me also, but I guess the world was just too amazed to really grasp the scope
of what was being presented). Oh yes, the weirdness we did grasp as well as
the warmth and emotionality in the songs - or did they grab us? – that
came upon us as friendly and encompassing as a new rendition of The
Beatles’ “When I am 64” (one of the undoubtedly cutest songs about a
usually avoided issue: sex among elder people.) or a worn handmade blanket.
We recognized that the band likes to heap layer upon layer upon layer to
shape songs and would also use frightingly contrasting things in one
collage, who for some magical wizardry reason always seemed to work out
really good. Also the hippie-esk smell of collective music-making and
outsider-dome was apparently wavering over your record player, as soon as
you put the record on and I found myself often enough imaging Avey Tare,
Panda Bear and the rest of the bunch in loosely fitting clothes, long hair
and beards, beads and bandanas and painted faces. I could be right there
basically, but not the way I expected, because I obviously didn’t paint
the masks, combat boots, chewing tobacco and the internet lenses into my
imaginary picture.
This year, the songs are tightened up and more straightforward; though of course we are talking relatively and straightforward still includes a lot curves and turnarounds on here. There are uptempo-stompers such as “The Purple Bottle” or the opener “Did you see the words” or the single-outtake “Grass”, accentuated by warbly background singing. “Grass” by the way has the same energy cool beatsongs in the Sixties had, if Rocky Erickson had enough drugs that day and found some friends to do some manic screaming over a Beach Boys tune. Ups, there was it, the d-word, which I didn’t want to use this time. Seems like there is no way around it with Animal Collective. Amongst the songs there are also more spheric and translucent songs that spread softly towards the listener, such as “Daffy Duck” or “Flesh Canoe”. On “Bees” you are constantly waiting for the orchestra or at least six-piece string section to set in, but it doesn’t happen. The spaces left open by less improvisation are filled with more layers of music. There are still enough places and instants left for the unsuspecting listener to stumble over and fall down. But, as it is in the childlike dreamworld you have entered, you’ll always fall softly and get up again to join the fun once more.
There are some noteworthy guests on the record, e.g. Eyvind
Kang on, of course, violin, and Kristin Anna Valtysdottir on piano,
throughout the record. These people plus Geologist and The Deakin being
implied for the whole length of the album adds to the more band-like feeling
of the record.
For people who had received an overdose of “Where’s
the fish?” in their youth, “feels” will be an almost clean and
wholesome record, but they’ll need a dose of cleanliness and wholesomeness
fast anyway. Me, I always wondered why the Black Dice got the stardom quicker than Animal
Collective, but this album could set the record straight. Not that I’d
care too much about my favourite magazines writing about my favourite bands
(it is a good reason to start a band to get to hear the music you want to
hear, but you don’t start a fanzine to get to read what you want to read)
but I also at times like to believe in some sort of cosmic balance and good
getting their reward in the end (which, if you think about it, are two
completely contrary things). Still, I do believe that there is something
that Animal Collective know, that hasn’t passed by me yet, but would make
my life so much richer and better. Like Mick Jagger once said, when asked,
if he was finally satisfied: “Sexually yes, philosophically no,
financially trying.” and that way putting a few things into perspective
once again. I’d like to boil it down to: if there are some people
remaining having fun at what they are doing, that’s okay for me. Animal
Collective are all that.
