No band this decade has been harder to grasp than Animal Collective. Listening to them weave through sounds and genres is a bit like watching a fish dart back and forth in an aquarium. To catch that fish could prove a slippery endeavor, and you might decide it’s just too quick for you. Likewise, this band wriggles away from you every time you try to pin them down to a certain niche. Animal Collective have always pushed themselves to dismantle old sounds and build new ones; you’d be met with disbelief if you played Here Comes the Indian and Merriweather Post Pavilion for the uninitiated and informed them it was the same group. Of course, an eclectic catalogue doesn’t make a good band, and it might be a moot point if the Collective weren’t operating on such a high plane. Die-hards would contend that everything has been brilliant from the beginning. More casual observers at the very least have to admit that Sung Tongs ushered in an era of pop proficiency that is rivaled by few.
Listening to Feels gave a sense that this was pop at its finest. Surely that album set the gold standard of the Collective. But then Strawberry Jam was released, and what should have bowed to Feels' prowess, matched and possibly exceeded it. Very impressive, but lightning can’t strike three times, can it? Merriweather Post Pavilion obliterated any notion that the band had peaked, as they managed to top three excellent, decade-worthy albums. Along the way they followed each release with great EPs, reaching a fever pitch in creativity with Water Curses. At this point, does it make any sense to bet against these guys? But with the post-MPP EP, the enduring questions of “what will these guys do next?” and “will they finally take a step back?” ensue. I would know, I’m obviously a big fan of these guys (as many have become), and I still ask these questions, even though the band is wildly successful every time. So, Fall Be Kind kindly drops in the fall and there is but one thing to do, and that is to listen to the music.
“Graze” opens and proceeds as the inverted, stranger cousin to “Daily Routine”, only with Avey Tare singing instead of Panda Bear. Tare takes cues from Panda Bear’s hazy dreamworld and floats through the first half of the song. Swirls of unidentifiable sounds and bleary applications of layered atmosphere surround Tare’s gentle melody. Then a tribal drum kicks in and pan flutes start hustling out a melody, all the while, Tare’s sing-song approach resurfaces for an infectious second-half. “Graze” culminates the way “Daily Routine” came together as one great song, by way of two outstanding sections. “What Would I Want? Sky” finds a tension and strong undercurrent that MPP didn’t explore. Layered arpeggios provide a rich bed of rhythm for another fantastic Tare melody. Typically herky-jerky, he smooths out his vocals to craft an endlessly fluid song, which couldn’t be any catchier.
Panda Bear’s vocals finally emerge on “Bleed”, supplementing each Tare verse, while the Collective continue with the layered atmospherics. Everything is wonderful up to this point, and “On A Highway” is unwilling to let up. Gas pedal mashed to the floor, “Highway” becomes arguably the best song on the EP. Avey Tare’s soft melody is simultaneously beautiful and catchy, as more affected sounds tower above him. To close the EP, Panda Bear finally get his own song, and proceeds to do Panda-like things. On “I Think I Can,” hazy, elongated melodies shimmer through the boom-bass that MPP made its trademark. “I Think I Can” cashes in on keyboard sounds that dance around Panda Bear’s trance-like melody, as an energetic jam takes hold midway through the song.
With Animal Collective, each LP is a totally refurbished sound that the group builds from scratch, while Fall Be Kind, like the past EPs, mutates the sound from the album it succeeds, but stays within the established framework. MPP was aquatic, accessible, and jubilant. It was often labeled as a dance record. Yes, you could dance to it, but it was out of unbridled enthusiasm for the music, not because it fit neatly into that genre. Fall Be Kind¸ on the other hand, forgoes the aquatic aesthetic for a windier, more spacious approach. MPP’s jubilation is forsaken, in favor of darker tones, which feel like the shadowed places that MPP left unexplored. The themes and aesthetics are different, but where the two albums share a common thread is the layered, trance-inducing melodies, the boom-bass, and the flare for accessibility. Both albums will get you lost in their swirls, only one does it with joy and the other with melancholy. If Fall Be Kind were extended to LP length (assuming the added songs were as good), it would stand alongside MPP as that album's twin jewel on the band’s already-brilliant crown. It’s another fascinating release that shows once again why you never bet against Animal Collective.
Track List:
1. Graze (5:22)
2. What Would I Want? Sky (6:46)
3. Bleed (3:28)
4. On a Highway (4:36)
5. I Think I Can (7:10)
