Saturday 15 May 2010

Review: Fall Be Kind EP (2009) - Animal Collective

The last time brought an album without knowing what to expect was a few weeks ago. Said purchase was caused by none other than a hipster - you know, the type who craft their musical taste and dress code by general popular trend and fashion.

I was at the music store.

Without any formal introduction or senseless fraternizing, a long-time primary-school hipster friend had barged into me - turned around, and realized I was compulsively flicking through the David Bowie albums, because I was obsessed with him. Said older-aged hipster happened to be wearing a fedora and suit. He stank of tequila.

"Hi. Is that David Bowie?" He swaggered in the usual flamboyant demeanor. "You listen to him?"

I clenched my fists as he saw me slowly lowering one of the particularly gratuitous records that involves the titular artist being dressed in a Pierrot. This would not be easy, but I'd stand my ground in the face of being genuinely honest about my personal choice rather than some hipster that had long-worshiped the genres and albums that said friend comparatively seemed to like.

"Yeah." I trembled, wishing that the guy had some equally-irritable parents that could whisk him away at the promise of purchasing some ironic clothing or the like. "He is a little odd though, I admit."

"No offense, but really, David Bowie is just not a good artist. He's pretty gay, if you get what I mean."

"Bisexual, actua-"

"No! God, I mean his music." Eyeing the copy of Best of Bowie I had in hand, he snatched it and began to go over the rear cover song list. "Of all his, quote, 'best and greatest hits', I can only name a few. Heroes, Ashes to Ashes, Space Oddity, Life on Mars..." He mumbled, confused a little, and handed the compilation back to me.

"Some achievement. Look. You may like him, but really, he's not even a trend-setter, he's a sheep following the leading genres of the period. Anyway..." He signaled to his other hipster friends outside the door, "Listen to some Animal Collective or something. Gotta go."

He put a light brown cardboard CD case in my hands, and left. Being the impressionable sort, I was gullible enough to go to the counter and buy it instead over my preferred David Bowie CD.

The CD I bought instead was the Fall be Kind EP, by Animal Collective.

I've heard of Animal Collective from none other than Pitchfork, who assert that the EP is excellent and a wonderful experience, although I'd rather not quote from the site. Of what I have heard from them, mostly in the incantation of songs from the widely-lauded Merriweather Post Pavillion, they're different. A kind of pleasing, dreamy electronic album, yet a discordant cacophony at the same time. I know I'm harsh. Maybe I just don't understand it because I'm too naive.

The result, however, is pleasing, if not for the point that I feel this album manages to 'dumb down' its inaccessible complexity but somehow retain its, well, 'dreaminess'. It's a step in a different direction - not up nor down in comparison to Post, but diagonal.

It's original - Graze changes song midway, What Would I Want? Sky uses (and subverts) the only Grateful Dead sample known to man, and gives a real sense of genuine wonderment. I haven't heard a song made within the end of the year that really rivals this. Maybe it's the strings that actually brings me up in the clouds with the band on the same level on the first time.

So far so good, right? I really wish I could like the other three songs as much as the first two, but no, they're more ambient, therefore virtually inaccessible unless you're in the right mood and disposition towards that sort of thing. An exception has to be I Think I Can, with an odd indescribable hook, but bah, the whole problem that I have with the rest of the album is that repetition is only fine when it's melodic. Not to say there isn't melody, but I can't get into it. It doesn't have the 'feel', you could say, that the first two have.

Regardless, I'd justifiably pay for the EP for the first two songs. If you like Animal Collective, this is going to be your lucky day. The EP didn't win me over to being a fan per se, but it was happily accessible, which I duly appreciate. I'll have to thank my hipster friend regardless for waving said EP in my face, even if he is a pretentious, opinionated, ironic git.

Buy it? Sure, why not. Especially if you're going to be dancing in blue-skied grassy fields. Then you can be at one with nature as you play this music. Or something of the like.

7/10

Animal Collective - Graze




Animal Collective - What Would I Want? Sky



No comments: