Time Skiffs - Animal Collective: Review
Animal Collective
is a Baltimore band consisting of interchanging members Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Deakin and Geologist. The group was primarily a psychedelic folk project in their early years but shifted into something more psych pop sounding, which resulted in the most acclaimed album of their career and one of the most acclaimed indie records of the entire 2000's, Merriweather Post Pavilion in 2009. They released just two albums in the 2010's not counting numerous solo records, side projects, EPs and visual work, but neither record attracted anywhere near the level of acclaim the band is accustomed to. It's also their first album in 10 years to feature contributions from all 4 members.
Review By Lav:
I enjoy Animal Collective I'm not afraid to say that. One of probably the first 10 reviews I ever wrote for this blog was their Painting With album in 2016 which I thought was okay at the time but I'm less favorable towards in retrospect. Even though I haven't been crazy about the bands studio material over the past 10 years, the individual members particularly Panda Bear and Deakin have wowed me with some of their solo projects. I was excited for Time Skiffs for a number of reasons starting with the fact that the entire band was back together again, and culminating in numerous singles I really enjoyed. Ultimately this record easily clears their last few solo projects and I'm plenty comfortable saying it's the best thing they've done as a band since Merriweather.
Let's go ahead and talk about those singles because they dominated much of the discussion surrounding the record in the past few months and I think 3 out of 4 of them are great. Prester John came first and after landing on my singles of the year list last year it should be no surprise to anybody that I still really enjoy it. While the second half is much more interesting than the first I still find myself enjoying the dreamy swaying and group vocals. Once the title refrain kicks in it gets even better and delivers one of my favorite musical passages on the entire record complete with a strong hook.
Next up was Strung With Everything which I've been enjoying immensely since it came out earlier this year. I love the dueling vocal refrains that lull you in with those gentle psychedelic sounds before erupting into a hook that stands up to some of the catchiest and most mesmerizing I've ever heard from the band. The way they bring the hook back in the second half with more and more energy each time totally sells me on the lavish extravagance they're painting with. We Go Back was released just a few days before the record but it's so instantly gratifying I had already made my mind up about liking it. The overlayed refrains and surprisingly catchy and the woozy sound palette is absolutely intoxicating. This track is one of the best examples of the band blending their pop sensibilities with their knack for crafting great sonic spaces and textures.
Dragon Slayer is a really charming opener for the record in the form of a circular little synth number. It has a detailed and infectious instrumental arrangement full of all sorts of different little chimes and clicks backing some catchy refrains. The psychedelic overtones and kooky vocals pair perfectly with the bouncy instrumental starting the record off strong. It keeps that momentum up with another track that I generally think is pretty good in Car Keys. It deploys a tactic I've always lovingly referred to as "splashing sound" and Panda Bear fans will be very familiar with it. There are these distant synths and vocals filling out the background of basically the entire song but the rushes of clattering drums and cascading lead vocals just crash into the track over and over again to great results. While it does leave the bridge feeling kind of empty by comparison it makes for numerous great moments across the rest of the song.
Those songs are certainly a decent start to the record but it saves its best deep cuts for the second half. Cherokee is the longest song on the album and I like it more every time I hear it. It has a rustic aesthetic that feels reminiscent of earlier freak folk AnCo records. Above that all though it's still firmly a psych pop song. It is also what I would call the lyrical highlight of the record alongside some of the singles. Despite being one of the more vocally busy songs it still keeps the refrains instantaneously catchy. The transitional moments use stark synths to conjure up very naturalistic almost field recording style sounds that seem to call back to Avey and Geologist's Meeting of the Waters EP and I like that quite a bit about the song.
The closing track Royal And Desire quickly became my favorite and big fans of Deakin's solo album absolutely have to hear this. It starts off as a very gentle swaying ballad with all the murky mixing and splashes of freaky sounds that you'd expect. Across the runtime it progresses through numerous builds to dramatic high points without ever losing that fragile very touching intimacy it has from the very start. I think it's a perfect conclusion to the record.
Passer-by is one of the more formless and abstract songs on the record with a weird disconnected organ like synth tone and what sounds like a xylophone bonking away in the background. It's all a little bit dizzying to keep track of but I was surprised by how well I remembered some of the refrains. The only song on the record I really don't like is the second single Walker. The most noticeable thing is the annoying tropical chimes and woozy, whiny vocal delivery which feel like a very bad combo. The instrumental stopping and starting is kind of interesting at first but it gets old really quickly and reminds me of some of the more difficult to swallow songs from Painting With.
Despite a blip or two in its tracklist Time Skiffs is a really welcome return for Animal Collective. The bands knack for excellent fusions of percussion and synths keep their songs refreshing and texturally dynamic while their pop instincts help make it a breezy 45 minute listen that I can't help but enjoy. They really are impressively unique in that sense and rather than leaning hard into their experimental nature they meet in the middle with very good results. If what the band has been releasing over the last few years both as individuals and as a cohesive unit has been letting you down, it's time to check back in because Time Skiffs is the best Animal Collective studio album in a long time. 8/10
