Over the last decade, Animal Collective’s journey has been characteristically
bizarre, feeling their way through various shades of psychedelic noise pop. Though
what they do is pretty hard to pin down, from the gorgeous psych-folk of Feels and Campfire Songs to the whacked-out madness of Strawberry Jam and 2009’s critics’ choice Merriweather Post Pavillion, psychedelia seems a pretty strong
place to start when trying to make sense of it all.
That said, making sense of it all is absolutely the last thing you
should do with an Animal Collective album. On Merriweather opener ‘In The Flowers’, the line ‘if I could just
leave my body for the night’ turns an uncertain, washy picture of a chance
meeting with a dancer in a field into a bursting, intense dreamscape that
shoots off into the sky and, for an hour’s sensory onslaught, never really
comes down.
And here, three years later, after a year and a half of doing whatever
the hell it is they do when working on an album, is Centipede Hz. When asked how he would describe the sound of the new
album, multi-instrumentalist Deakin helpfully went for “Centipede Hz”. Also,
here’s a still from the video for single Today’s Supernatural:
So, there’s that.
Gratifyingly, Centipede Hz
winds on in much the same vein as Merriweather.
The familiar sonic blitz and sense of curious exploration are intact, but Centipede Hz is its own beast. It’s
frantic and noisy, and a lot grander than anything that’s come before. Opener
and possible album best ‘Moonjock’ kicks straight into an apocalyptic 7/8
sprawl with Avey Tare and Panda Bear sharing vocals. With Deakin back in the
line up and after varied solo efforts, the band is more collected and resolute
than ever.
There’s frequent spots of magic through the album – Deakin’s first
songwriting credit and lead vocal ‘Wide Eyed’ bounces to its own irresistible groove,
and ‘Tomorrow’s Supernatural’ is an organised mess of organ bursts and Avey
Tare’s trademark snarls and shouts.
After becoming established in their own special way, every release seems
to be hailed as Animal Collective’s most coherent effort to date, or the album
that could finally break them into
the mainstream. Though Centipede Hz does feel that little bit more like a more
lucid and focused collection of songs, replete with catchy hooks and
radio-friendly structures (see ‘Wide Eyed’ and ‘Amanita’), it’s as dense and
mystifying as ever. Despite having their feet more firmly on the ground, their
heads are still up in the clouds.
