Fall Was Kind

It’s rather annoying really. There are bands that take out an album every four-five years and you just want that new album and complain every single time you get the chance that the said band hasn’t taken out anything new. And then there are bands that just keep them rolling. Especially mainstream artists, probably in some twist of fate, some new unwritten law of Murphy. Or, if not a commercial artist, one you could give a, as the saying goes, rat’s ass. And here is where I used to file Animal Collective under. Notice my choice of verbal tense when speaking of my relationship with Animal Collective. Yes, past. Bear with me and you shall see why (if you haven’t already guessed).

Eight studio albums, one compilation, two live albums and four EPs in nine years is quite a lot, you’ll have to admit to it. And we’re not counting the five side projects Avey Tare and Panda Bear have. This year alone an album and an EP. The EP which is entitled Fall Be Kind and came out yesterday. It has five tracks and this is where we get down to business.

The first two songs could very well be seen as four songs. Graze is a dream-state-infused, mellow, piano-driven piece until, at about 3:15, a flute kicks in and you could almost swear this is the Shire and all the hobbits are having a carnival. What Would I Want? Sky sets of as a nice piece that seems to belong to that weird new world music that Flaming Lips’ Embryonic was full of, only to shape into a Grateful Dead-sampled spacey and rather stoned piece (the chimes and clapping make it a priceless trip).

Bleed is probably the EP’s break, with is drone-ish out-of-this-world beat. The reason it’s there, right before On A Highway, is probably because Bleed is the lullaby and On A Highway (with all it’s bleepy sounds) is the dream. Yeah, that’s how a dream sounds, your best dream ever in fact. The closing track, I Think I Can, is most probably the darkest track on the record and it also has the most surreal drums and the most perfect xylophone.

And while the last track ends, I think it’s safe to say I’ve been converted to Animal Collective. Alas, we all give in at a certain point.