December 15th 2012

Merriweather Post Pavilion is one of the greatest albums of our generation. Between MPP and Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, these two albums broke barriers in their respective genres and earned a place in the modern music universe that will be remembered for year and years to come and become "classics", if you will. Because most music in our age is disposable, which can and will be forgotten in a hot minute.

Animal Collective has been in the game for much longer than people might think. The made their first and small splash in 2000 with debut album Spirit They're Gone, They've Vanished and have been making some of indie music's most boundary-pushing psychedelic and experimental music since. Although up until 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion, a lot of their tunes did not come to easy to many ears, with most songs being harsh, abrasive jams involving a lot of nonsensical shouts and screams that would drive many listening right away, but to those who understood, they were definitely in their zone and have stayed extremely loyal ever since, and brought Animal Collective to the throne they sit on in the independent music universe today.

Then came 2009: a year when the underground music blogisphere was well underway, but hadn't really received the nice push it needed. Then, on March 23rd, single "My Girls" dropped and the world exploded. This song was the song that gave the internet that push, but acted as more of a violent shove that quickly escalated into a giant moshpit. "My Girls" became the biggest track in modern internet based music history in just a short time. It came as no surprise as the track features some of the most lush and easygoing instrumentals in electronic music with a very relatable and understandable message: just to forget about all the disposable things that come along and focus mostly on what matters, love. Combining the folk-y songwriting with modernized instrumentation normally wouldn't work well in this sense, but Animal Collective makes it work transcendently. So with all the hype that collected with this release, could the album really meet expectations this high?

The answer is yes. Yes, yes and more yes. Animal Collective completely annihilated everyones expectations for this album. The accessibility is mostly responsible for it's massive success, because compared to past releases, hold for Strawberry Jam, it's no doubt the easiest to listen to. Not only is it accessible of course, but the songs on it are just fucking great. Whether it be from the bouncy, easygoingness of "Summertime Clothes" or the introspective repetition of Daily Routine, you will find yourself digging each track heavily and wanting to repeat them as soon as they're over. What MPP does over other Animal Collective releases is that it makes you feel as if you are part of the music, rather than just a spectator. It makes you feel right at home wherever you may be listening to it. Unfortunately, this is the only release of theirs that evokes such feelings.

Ever since the release of Merriweather Post Pavilion has Animal Collective matched the magic. In the same year, they released an EP and it was good, but not great, hold for What Would I Want? Sky. Even 2012's Centipede Hz seemed like a complete letdown and failed in comparison to MPP, as well as on it's own. Animal Collective may have peaked with MPP, much like Kanye may have with MBDTF. I guess when you've reached such success, there isn't much you can do except enjoy it.