Animal Collective

Albums:
‘Sung Tongs‘ (2004)
‘Feels‘ (2005)
‘Strawberry Jam‘ (2007)
‘Merriweather Post Pavillion‘ (2009)

Halfway through ‘Sung Tongs’ I thought to myself, “Great, another band that just makes fucking weird music.” And, to that point and quite a while after, I was right. Talking to Nick he said about this group that they make beats out of things you wouldn’t believe. That’s a good way to think about it. They also know when to say when, too as some of these tracks aren’t terribly long. Gotta hand it to them to know their limits.

Then, I don’t know if a light went off in their collective heads or if I just finally accepted them for what they are, but the tone and feel of ‘Merriweather Post Pavillion’ made a sharp turn to take their ideas and make them more accessible to the mainstream crowd. Being a musical nincompoop, this made it better for me, too. This album went down like sweet water with track after track of good beats, some enchanting hooks, and just good music. Highly recommended. The rest? Well, depends on your definition of music.

Track of Distinction: “My Girls” is a fun almost pop-dance track that helped snap me out of my delirium.

The Album Leaf

Album: ‘Into the Blue Again‘
Year: 2006

This album is yet another that I do not remember adding to my collection, but here it is. It was probably a result from a free album giveaway but I don’t know for sure. I’m not mad, but it makes me think I may need to have my memory checked.

It isn’t a bad album. It’s not a very memorable album. It is categorized as Post Rock but I don’t know if it qualifies. It revels in its instrumentals and brings out its best work when the lead singer shuts his trap and lets the listener take the reigns in the musical landscape. I might need to take this one for another trip to really get a bead on it.

Track of Distinction: “See In You” was good and worth your time.

Pyramids

Albums:
‘Pyramids‘ (2008)
‘Pyramids with Nadja‘ (2009)

Never have I walked into listening to an album with such skepticism and been so pleasantly surprised at the result. When the experimental-rock band’s first album came out, I was sent a copy by my buddy Nick who told me to listen to this interesting new band. I was skeptical, not because it was given to me based on Nick’s recommendation, but because he was given the album in the first place by our mutual friend John. Though John is a nice guy, he is kind of on the dark side of the spectrum music-wise from the rest of the world. He looks for the creepy, the weird, and the eclectic sounds that most people cast off. Oh, and he likes Charles Mingus. That should explain a bit.

But I listened anyway and, within a few tracks I was hooked. But, like my favorite meals, I didn’t want to overdo it so I set it aside and I’ve been eagerly awaiting its return to my iPod as the final artist in the letter P. The albums are as sublime as I remember, being both existential, radical, and in-your-face while also being very inviting and somewhat ethereal. It tries to make you hate it with some grating tones but, like a pock-marked pied piper, it draws you into the ugliness with its sweet, enchanting undertones. I don’t know how else to describe it. Check out “Sleds,” “Hellmonk,” “Ghost” and “Into the Silent Waves” to get an idea of how much range this wonderful band truly has.

Track of Distinction: “The Echo of Something Lovely” was chosen, not just because it is a lovely blend of the band’s sound, but because “Into the Silent Waves” (or anything from their album with Nadja for that matter) would be too long to include and I want to be fair to those with shorter attention spans.