Isn't It Now? - Animal Collective: Review

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Animal Collective
is a Baltimore-based music project that contains any combination of Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Deakin, and Geologist. Last year, the four returned to all work on a project together for the first time in over a decade with Time Skiffs. The album was met with praise from fans and critics alike and followed up just a year later with the groups 12th studio album.

Review by Lav: 
I've been a big fan of Animal Collective for a long time despite the fact that during my early development as a music fan they were arguably at their worst. That didn't include solo material where Panda Bear and Deakin in particular dropped music I liked a lot. But as a group the hangover from their 2009 masterpiece Merriweather Post Pavilion lasted a LONG time. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised to love their new album last year and with all four back in the saddle for yet another release I went into this one pretty hyped too. 

A big reason for that is the singles. The album was led off with Defeat, a 21-minute mammoth that I like more than I have any right to. I think you could make a pretty objective case that this song wastes way more time than it needs to especially in the introduction which takes a pure snail's pace to nearly 10 minutes of build-up. Des[pite that I never got tired of hearing it while it was on and boy when the song finally does all kick off it's just an utterly perfect moment. 

In stark contrast Gem & I is the shortest and simplest single I think Animal Collective is even capable of making, and I like it just as much. It has some of the catchiest refrains on the entire album and the bouncy kooky little instrumental flourishes sound great. The other single Soul Capturer serves as the opener and while I don't like it as much it's still a oood track. The instrumental core of the song is totally killer and the layers of sounds deployed really grab me. 

I feel pretty similarly about Genies Open which has this crashing percussion in the first half that just slams into you. It ultimately gets replaced by a much more serene and gentle sound in the second half that sets up for some of my favorite group vocals on the album. Broke Zodiac is vintage late 2000's Animal Collective and I can't get enough of it. The only complaint I have about the song is the occasionally oppressive mixing of the vocals which absolutely smash the gentler vibes of the album up to this point. 

Speaking of smashing gentler vibes, Magicians From Baltimore is one of the more sonically aggressive points on the album. I do like the song despite not really feeling like it needed to be a full 9-and-a-half minute cut. Mostly I feel like both it and the closing track Kings Walk are so much more jagged than anything else here that they stand out on the album even though I think I would enjoy them independently. 

The first 6 songs on the album are VERY good and I don't have many complaints about them. But across the closing trio of songs I think they sort of lose the thread. Stride Rite is the closest thing the record has to a true Deakin ballad but even then it doesn't stick very closely to that mold. Once again I like the group vocals a lot and they elicit drama in a really compelling way but the song itself doesn't actually do much for me. And of course, we have the song All The Clubs Are Broken which keeps up the rich tradition of every AnCo album having at least one song that's far too silly for me to really enjoy. Thankfully, it's the shortest song on the entire album. 

Isn't It Now? may not be as good as its predecessor but it follows the same blueprint to plenty of success. From some of the best singles I've heard this year to some extremely rewarding deep cuts in the first half of the album, there is a lot to like here. The band continue to be in their bag as harmonizers and every good refrain on the album is made even better by their singing. The resulting project, while imperfect, it another very solid and essential addition to the Animal Collective discography. 7.5/10


For more great indie check out my review of Susanne Sundfor's blomi

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