Animal Collective is a band that has always failed to excite me, and I was ready to dismiss their new album Merriweather Post Pavilion as another excuse for indie hipsters to freak out over nothing. That feeling only increased when indie music websites Pitchfork and Stereogum hailed this album the best of 2009… five days into January.
But then I listened to the thing. And I was pleasantly surprised that it’s actually quite addicting. This is Animal Collective more accesible than they’ve ever been, and it’s not uncommon for you to find yourself dancing throughout the whole album. I doubt it’ll be my favorite album of the year, but it’s a solid A- album in my view.
Here’s the music video for “My Girls”, one of the standout tracks on Merriweather Post Pavilion: