Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Domino

Could Merriweather Post Pavilion bring Animal Collective the big breakthrough? I doubt it, even though its a smashing album from one of the more eccentric bands around.

Wild side, freak folk band Animal Collective have always brought their strange, avant-garde pop brew, with a dash of psychedelic absurdism. They make music that could've been the soundtrack for millions and millions of colourful bubbles. This is the sound of Technicolor dreams. Animal Collective want to create musical escapades larger-than-life.

Merriweather Post Pavilion is the collective foursome's (Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakin) 7th studio album (not counting Campfire Songs). And most definite their best so far. From the flowing opener, "In The Flowers", the album welcome you to this fantastic voyage, like being dragged into a dream world, or a spellbinding fairytale forest. This is bubbling, sparkling music. Slightly controlled madness. Sounding like the Beatles ("Taste") and the Beach Boys ("Guys Eyes"), late 1960s, on a lot of dope. There's a lot of great songs here, like "Also Frightened", "Summertime Clothes", and "Lion In A Coma" - songs just bursting with energy and joy, and, like most Animal Collective compositions, they're blasting the frameworks and rules of how pop songs should be like.

The album ends with the electric and explosive, and totally irresistible, deranged Latino piece "Brother Sport". Leaving you with one thought in your head: Start from the top again. And again. We're only a week and a half into 2009, and, yet, Merriweather Post Pavilion could be album of the year. Crazy world.

Copyright © 2009 Håvard Oppøyen