Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Feel it!, February 21, 2006
Folk jazz. Psychedelic prog. Experimental indie.
Animal Collective uses all those sounds (and more) in their seventh album, the freakily beautiful "Feels." With pop melodies that are never catchy and instrumentation that is never ordinary, they manage to weave together songs that break away creatively from their past work.
It opens with a delicate burbling noise, somewhere between laughter and a brook. From there on, the Collective takes it into a bouncy, merry indiepop number called "Did You See the Words." Not only is it fun to listen to, but it's decorated with bells, piano and a chorus of happy voices.
From there on, they follow it up with the mad sparkle of "Grass," shimmering indie ballads, acoustic dance music, wandering experimental collages, and tight little dark indie-rock numbers that are as strippd down as this band will ever. The highlight of the entire album is "Bees," a delicate post-rock exercise in strumming, piano, and meditating on... life and bees.
One of the biggest problems a band can have is trying out new sounds, without abandoning the old. In "Feels," the Animal Collective has dropped some of the sonic trappings of their previous album, in favour of more straightforward melodies. Of course, "straightforward" is relative -- many of the songs still drift through in clouds of sweetness.
It's kind of hard to pick apart these melodies, and figure out what instruments were used to create them. I can tell you this much: There's sweeping delicate synth, some great piano work, solid drums, and an off-kilter autoharp. There is an occasional drone of guitar riffs, but mostly they stick to the gentler acoustic stuff, which gives it a folky edge.
Avey Tare's voice swims through the music like a psychedelic duck. He doesn't sound like a singer so much as another instrument. He takes the listener through giddiness to depression, and finally to the enlightenment of how to be happy -- the last song just shimmers down into a piano solo, and fades.
Bold, bright and charming, "Feels" is another triumph for the Animal Collective. And it's recommended for anyone who needs to get into a sunny mood, fast.
|
|
|
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another amazing album from a group who keeps pulling out surprises, November 22, 2005
Although I didn't love the Animal Collective the first time that I heard them, they were one of those groups that burrowed their way into my very consciousness with their sort of primal, almost tribal folk musings. It didn't matter that their vocals were nonsensical and/or indecipherable, or that they would occasionally lapse into extended trips that are probably meant to be enjoyed (more) with mind-altering substances, they seemed to capture many of those intangibles that make me love music outright. As time has progressed, the group has seemingly gotten better with each release, and their Sung Tongs release was my favorite album of last year.
Needless to say, I was ready to approach Feels with a bit of trepidation, as I do with any release by a group that follows something that I consider downright essential. In my many years of listening to music, I've been let down far too many times after expecting follow-up releases to always best their great predecessor. Whereas Sung Tongs was mainly the work of two musicians, Feels finds Animal Collective joined by more of their regular members and the resulting sound is more expansive as well.
In fact, Feels is easily the most melodic and dense work from the group yet. If their previous album was the result of the group taking acoustic instrumentation to odd realms, then this newest effort finds them doing that and then some, bring in electric guitars, a great use of piano, more effects, and of course a whole slew of vocal melodies. One could argue that it's the most melodic work from the group yet, and it gets going from the start with "Did You See The Words." Starting quietly, the track layers some tinkling piano melodies and strummy reverbed guitar chords before the vocals burst forth and a rhythm sets the track in motion. As the track progresses, it continues to build steam, with percussion getting louder, vocal melodies and harmonies getting more complex, and full-on washes of sound layering on top of one another. "Grass" follows, and it's even more triumphant as shimmering electronics blend with pounding drums and shimmery guitars while the vocals start out almost Beach Boys style before rupturing into yelling, explosive sections that turn the track into a cathartic freakout that you can't help but want to scream along with.
From there, the group takes things down a notch with the spacey "Flesh Canoe" before launching into "The Purple Bottle," which is easily a contender for my favorite song of the entire year. Bursting out of the gate with raucous drums, hilarious sing-along vocals (that seem to perfectly capture the giddy and weird beginnings of a relationship) and hazy guitar jangling, the track morphs several times during its almost seven minute running length and never seems to run out of ideas or get saggy in the slightest bit. By the time the group reaches the closing section (which blends dense washes of gorgeous melodies with sharp punctuated bursts) and finally winds down, you feel like skipping straight back to the beginning to hear it all over again. From there out, the album drifts off into more heady material that isn't always quite as invigorating, but at the very least it's still more melodic and textural than past work the group has done.
"Banshee Beat" (which is perhaps a bit of misnomer given the musical content of the track) floats along on beautiful layers of guitar, processed sound and some subtle drumming and vocals, and while it never gets much louder than a slightly-quickened heartbeat, it works like a charm. At almost eight minutes, "Daffy Duck" is the only track on the disc that really lacks any sort of tension or wonderment (it has nice moments, but nothing that hasn't been achieved in greater effect on other tracks). The release closes with the wondrous "Turn Into Something" and the rollicking piece alternately strums and soars, layering dense washes of sounds and even more playful vocal melodies. So, despite one slightly soft spot, Feels is yet another album on which the Animal Collective changes their sound even further and succeeds on just about every attempt. A glorious, noisy, melodic, celebratory release from the ever-inventive group.
(from almost cool music reviews)
|
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Album, March 30, 2006
I've read a lot of the reviews on here, and read the ones where 2 stars or less were given, and I can understand why some people will get frustrated with the overwhelming love for this album that lots of people have. Animal Collective don't bother with following song structure (or any structure, for that matter) in the traditional sense.
But aside from the reasons why you'd be driven away, it's arguably the most accessible album of Animal Collective's to date. They're keeping close to their own sound while expanding the number of people they can reach to through the music. There's also much more song structure and much less craziness, which was the case with most of the pre-Sung Tongs albums.
Did You See The Words - I love the way this song builds in the beginning. Up until the cymbal crash and explosion of vocals at about a minute 3 seconds in, you can't hear the beat that Avey Tare is obviously singing to. The song keeps building on top of it's own momentum, making a stronger and stronger sound, until about 2 and a half minutes in, Avey Tare breaks the momentum, and the song steps back a bit. At about 3 minutes, the second part of this song starts...lyrics about taking your shoes off and bringing back babies from the hospital...then the vocals go into ooh's and oh's, merging with tinkling piano, which makes for a strangely beautiful sound.
Grass - Arguably the best song on the album. The way the beginning note (A# I believe) is held until Avey Tare starts singing gets me excited every time. The way Avey sings in this song almost sounds like he's sneaking around, until he starts the chorus, where it's all yelling POW POW NOW NOW along with a back beat (which is one of the best parts of this song). I don't think the length of this song could be any better. Short and sweet. The music is great...the way the chords are played remind me of old timey western piano that's often heard played in bars and saloons.
Flesh Canoe - Past the obvious sexual innuendo, this song is beautiful in it's own little way. Personally, I enjoy the way this song is played acoustically, live, better, but this song is still great. The backing "ooh" behind Avey's soft singing...the way there's no drumbeat in this song, yet there's still a beat somewhat...the piano playing...all good stuff. Good song, but not one of the strongpoints of this album.
The Purple Bottle - This is probably my favorite song off the album. The tribal-esque beat along with the strained singing of the lyrics makes this fast-paced song sound extra packed with adrenaline. The "Hallelujah!" during what could be called the chorus seems a bit misplaced, but still fits somehow. Some people might run from the length of this song combined with the "A.D.D." quality it brings, having three very different sounding parts to the song. But overall, fantastic song.
Bees - It took me a while to get used to this song...but I learned to love it. I'm not even sure what kind of instrument is being played throughout the song...it sounds like they're strumming the guitar strings behind the nut. Anyway, the song is awesome. I love the various tinklings of piano, bits of heavily reverb-ed backing vocals, and soft cello. Beautiful song.
Banshee Beat - This song starts in a way very similiar to Did You See The Words. The guitar is randomly strummed, with Avey singing real soft and slow. Then you start hearing the click of some drumming, bringing the previously "lost" guitars into a real dreamlike beat. The song keeps building and building. About 3/4ths into the song Avey stops singing and starts going "ah-ah-ah-ah-ahyeah". An odd sound but I like it. Then the song drifts into a breakdown of "oohs" and "ahhs". Very very similiar to the first song in terms of how it's built, but still good.
Daffy Duck - My least favorite song. This song is very slow and repetitive, using many of the tehchniques already used in previous songs. This song could have been replaced by something else. Don't get me wrong. This song is beautiful sounding...it just sounds too much like a cross between Flesh Canoe and Banshee Beat.
Loch Raven - I love this song. The toyish sounding echoes of what sounds like a keyboard mixed with the whispers of Avey's voice, mixed with Panda Bear's extremely simple drumbeat make it a simple-yet-great song.
Turn Into Something - Had they ended this album in a manner similiar to the slower songs before this one, the album just would not be nearly as good. The delayed guitar in the beginning is great, playing a country-esque riff that's put into the "Animal Collective" blender. Then comes the second guitar, which sounds just as good. The way Avey Tare sings almost makes you want to join a barn dance. It's almost exaggeratingly "redneckish". The way this song ends is great too. With a mixture of instruments and vocals making a thick cloud of sound that just simply sounds beautiful. A great song to end the album with. The song could have been a bit shorter though.
I loved this album the minute I started listening to it. Some of the songs might take a little while to get used to, but overall it's a great buy, and I highly recommend it.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
An Amazon.com Best of 2005 selection.
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
~ Animal Collective
~ Animal Collective
~ Panda Bear
~ Animal Collective
~ Animal Collective
by Animal Collective 
