The strawberry jam was just beginning to coalesce in my brain, and after listening to Animal Collective's seventh album all winter, I thought I had the band figured out when this EP emerged.
"Water Curses" is a four-track EP due out May 5 from one of the most mind-blowingly awesome collective of animals "exploring strange new waters," according to a press release from the band.
God, I wonder what these guys do in the studio …
This much shorter collection of tunes mostly abandons the kindergartners-on-acid sound we all came to love on "Feels" and "Strawberry Jam," but the depth and freedom expressed in the songs are equally strong, if not even more strangely powerful.
Consider these four songs proof that less really is more. Rising from a noise and avant-garde background, Animal Collective seems to be continually climbing toward some moment in time when we'll all look back at "Pet Sounds" as though it were a Bach record.
With each new release, these guys redefine modern music on a level that pretty much only Radiohead is capable of. That's not even to mention what Panda Bear (of AC) does on his solo album "Person Pitch."
"Water Curses" finds Animal Collective going for a more subdued and minimal approach, placing more emphasis on melody and song-writing rather than massive percussion and noise freak-outs. The lead-off and title track "Water Curses" is the album's most familiar-sounding song with an upbeat waltz feel that might sound good during a Volvo commercial.
That's not an insult, although anyone could find pleasure in AC's quirky sounds, it might take more than 30 seconds to pick up on the whole idea.
The middle two tracks are the real gems, 'Street Flash' is a bold new step not only for these guys, but for musical structure in general. The song revolves around some looped guitar notes, one static tone that comes and goes, echoes and those trademark throat-shredding screams that sounds like an intense shout-therapy session with Yoko.
Although on paper this probably sounds like chaos, the song still plays a cool hand, keeping a steady tempo with plaintive lyrics that are not only catchy but (relatively) understandable. The song doesn't really use "chord progressions," it's more the musical equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting.
"Cobwebs" is another exercise in minimalism that proves how much these guys have mastered their craft. Having obviously outgrown their roots, their music becomes increasingly confident and composed with each release. Animal Collective makes music that belongs to that rare upper-echelon of great bands like Radiohead or the Flaming Lips where the music transcends genres and decades and truly encompasses the element of human existence.
Having only heard this a handful of times, I'm sure it will be many months of loud speakers before my brain will completely digest this one. And I look forward to every weird moment of it.
markgreen@dailynebraskan.com
