The Animal Collective is back! Okay, that probably doesn’t elicit as much enthusiasm from the reader as from the reviewer, because in the second decade of its existence the collective muddled along more or less irrelevantly, was mostly an idea in the numerous solo records of its members Panda Bear and Avey Tare more present than in the almost esoteric soundtrack works it recently released – little to feel of the absolute presence of the postmodern, twisted retro-mania of their heyday between 2004 and 2009.
? Buy TIME SKIFFS at Amazon.de
The four musicians are now in their third decade. It’s been five years since their last full-length regular record, PAINTING WITH, which had some gorgeous pop songs but mostly banged and squeaked, a punk record in psychedelic pop, kinda awesome but kinda uneasy about to unravel. TIME SKIFF now includes pieces that are more oriented towards the early versions of the collective: the experimental flow that characterized albums like HERE COMES THE INDIAN a good 20 years ago, which tried lush, crooked textures as well as harmonies and off-beat grooves.
Perhaps a prelude to a productive return? Because even if little attempts are made here to point the way to the future of pop music, and there are no pretentious gestures to define today, it sounds surprisingly pleasant in its animal-collective niche. A few catchy melodies in explosively beautiful sounds are found again, the psychedelic has an exit to the fair today and one track is named after the mythical medieval priest king Johannes. Music historically rather irrelevant, but much better than feared.
SIMILAR REVIEWS
MØ :: Motordrome
The Dane’s pop isn’t nearly as dangerous as the eponymous fairground attraction.
Molly Nilsson :: Extreme
The Swede from Berlin awakens her sleepiness from sitting around at home with energetic lo-fi pop.
Clinic :: Fantasy Island
Remember Kid Creole? Retrofuture pop with a wink.
SIMILAR ARTICLES
The last lockdown: Paula’s pop and bingewatch week at a glance
In the new issue of our pop column (KW03/2022): 10 to-do recommendations from Paula “Titanic” Irmschler for the upcoming lockdown with Winkesmiley from Omicron. Don’t worry, most of it – read: everything – can be done from the couch.
Listen to Aurora’s new singles “A Dangerous Thing” and “Everything Matters”
After “Heathens,” Aurora is releasing two more singles from her forthcoming album THE GODS WE CAN TOUCH.
Lorde, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo: Teenage superstars who made a splash in 2021
The Billie Eilish album was supposed to be the big pop record of the year. Instead, however, another new teenage superstar, Olivia Rodrigo, hit the nerve of the times much better. And Lorde, Gen Z’s first major songwriting talent? Surprised with an anti-hype album about the healing powers of the sun and nature.