[appy halloween]

demonclusters wrote:

spoogn wrote:

demonclusters wrote:

it's hard not to feel like theyre becoming less important

they are. but that's culture, not the music. this is a wonderful album, it will not be remembered as important music though. ac is out of vogue, it doesn't mean they're bad and it doesn't necessarily mean future projects by them won't be critically acclaimed. but the U.S.'s focus right now on gender/identity politics, black lives matter, other sociopolitical action/movements and their reflection in music doesn't really leave room to critically praise electronic music made by 3 white guys. i love this album, the critics won't

Yeah, I feel that. But I wasn't exactly expecting AC to release a black lives matter album. What i meant by "important" was expanding their sound each release, instantly inspiring waves of imitators. While the focus is still just the music rather than the cultural context, the cultural context factors into enjoyment of an album. Somebody mentioned something similar a few pages ago. It's like going to see of Montreal now- same guy, same songs, same lyrics, but he's older, somewhat defeated, and it just leaves you sad that the glory days of shit like the skeletal lamping tour are behind us. Painting With is super fun, and I'm definitely going to keep listening to it. I just feel like the songwriting isn't as strong as it used to be and they're not really expanding their own sound/horizons with this

edit: *braces for impact*

I was reminded by Jamie xx. I don't get how that is it's ok. To me, it was a kind of boring electronic record. Nothing special. But it is a white dude making electronic music..? Eh

[doggyinacoma]

and the beginnin of Bagels reminds me of Sparks from depression cherry ya know?

[partario]

Goku wrote:

This thread prior to pitchfork review
"This album is great!"

The same people in this thread, after the pitchfork review
"this album isn't great"

How do you lack self awareness to that degree?

no, this didn't happen at all.
It's completely separate group of people that are saying they dislike the album, and they all had that opinion before the review was published.

[speen]

doggyinacoma wrote:

and the beginnin of Bagels reminds me of Sparks from depression cherry ya know?

I actually thought the same thing. Weird track. I think it'll grow on me.

Anyone else feel like the cover art was actually a mistake? It doesn't match the vibe of the record for me. It's such a colorful and cartoonish record that making the cover mostly beige actually kind of skews my perception of the album. Idk about you guys but i take my cover art seriously

[Synusoid]

demonclusters wrote:

What i meant by "important" was expanding their sound each release, instantly inspiring waves of imitators. While the focus is still just the music rather than the cultural context, the cultural context factors into enjoyment of an album.
edit: *braces for impact*

*impact*

This is because people associate their personal image with the artists that they enjoy. Cultural significance of an artist is one of the most shallow influences on one's opinion, and it's not valid. But don't worry, literally everyone does it to some extent. It's still not right though.

demonclusters wrote:

Anyone else feel like the cover art was actually a mistake? It doesn't match the vibe of the record for me. It's such a colorful and cartoonish record that making the cover mostly beige actually kind of skews my perception of the album.

I disagree, and would say that the covers fit perfectly. Have you not noticed the colorfully drawn faces in the center?

[doggyinacoma]

demonclusters wrote:

Anyone else feel like the cover art was actually a mistake?

honestly a little bit right now, but I'm gonna reserve judgement for when I see all three in person

[northernchild]

spoogn wrote:

to critically praise electronic music made by 3 white guys. i love this album, the critics won't

Interesting, I think part of the issue is the amount of sound jammed into each song (same with chz). While I love the album, I would love it even more to have these songs in a simplified form (maybe piano, live drums and only geo with sampler). But again, I'm old.

[Synusoid]

I think that it's interesting how people can have opinions.

[doggyinacoma]

huh, might get mine tomorrow too. left jersey city this morning and i live in NY 10 mins from NJ border

[Synusoid]

Oh shit! My copy is out for delivery, it's already in my city. Looks like I'll have it today

[spoogn]

demonclusters wrote:

spoogn wrote:

demonclusters wrote:

it's hard not to feel like theyre becoming less important

they are. but that's culture, not the music. this is a wonderful album, it will not be remembered as important music though. ac is out of vogue, it doesn't mean they're bad and it doesn't necessarily mean future projects by them won't be critically acclaimed. but the U.S.'s focus right now on gender/identity politics, black lives matter, other sociopolitical action/movements and their reflection in music doesn't really leave room to critically praise electronic music made by 3 white guys. i love this album, the critics won't

Yeah, I feel that. But I wasn't exactly expecting AC to release a black lives matter album. What i meant by "important" was expanding their sound each release, instantly inspiring waves of imitators. While the focus is still just the music rather than the cultural context, the cultural context factors into enjoyment of an album. Somebody mentioned something similar a few pages ago. It's like going to see of Montreal now- same guy, same songs, same lyrics, but he's older, somewhat defeated, and it just leaves you sad that the glory days of shit like the skeletal lamping tour are behind us. Painting With is super fun, and I'm definitely going to keep listening to it. I just feel like the songwriting isn't as strong as it used to be and they're not really expanding their own sound/horizons with this

edit: *braces for impact*

ah, i see what you're saying now and that makes sense to me. the songwriting is definitely the aspect of their music that's most differnt this time around, and while their shorter pop song formula works in the sense that results in good songs, this is super far off from what we would all consider classic ac and i understand why there are people who would consider these good songs, but not necessarily good ac songs. to me there are songs on this album that will go down as classic gems (burglars, vertical, bagels, on delay, golden girls) but i definitely agree that fewer other acts will imitate this sound, and ac aren't getting any younger. still capable of creating great tunes that will move you, but i don't think they will be changing the face of music really anymore. i'm okay with that, and while i personally am totally psyched on this album, i get that it doesn't have the impact that many felt the first time they heard sung tongs or feels or any album that really stirred up a lot of feeling and change in a lot of people.

[dud]

doggyinacoma wrote:

huh, might get mine tomorrow too. left jersey city this morning and i live in NY 10 mins from NJ border

whoa i prob live really close to you

[partario]

demonclusters wrote:

It doesn't match the vibe of the record for me. It's such a colorful and cartoonish record that making the cover mostly beige actually kind of skews my perception of the album. Idk about you guys but i take my cover art seriously

I like the off-white/light beige background, it reminds me of a canvas, with the faces painted on.
And while the album is full of energy and busy in some ways, it does feel a little more sparse and stripped down, so I think only having the one image in the middle fits the record.

Just my thoughts though, I'm totally with you on taking cover art seriously. I love when an album and its art compliment each other perfectly.

[dud]

this album isn't clicking much for me unfortunately but i'm still enjoying it a bit and there are certainly some real incredible moments here, in particular i really like the middle section of on delay with the piano ('a place that's thrice been') plus the last minute of recycling

the burglars slays tho, and hocus pocus/golden gal/vertical are all pretty darn good

[dud]

yeah i'm really bummed cause i couldn't make the union transfer show this time around cause i have class friday nights so i'm going to the starland ballroom show instead but i'm super psyched to see the setlist / listen to the boots, etc. they will undoubtedly revive at LEAST one totally unexpected song from their back catalogue that will be more than worth the price of admission. the halloween 2013 show at union transfer was sooo good

[speen]

Yeah, I'm super pumped to see them Friday. like Lizard said, I have a feeling they'll make it all click in a live setting.

I do feel like a lot of the vocals on this album will be a challenge to do live though

[Afrizzle]

Anyone feel like this album woulda been better if they wrote the songs together instead of for eachother?? I love every song avey made but a lot of the panda tracks are very samey and bland to me.

[Sam]

demonclusters wrote:

Yeah, I'm super pumped to see them Friday. like Lizard said, I have a feeling they'll make it all click in a live setting.

I do feel like a lot of the vocals on this album will be a challenge to do live though

If they do manage to pull it off live (and without samples) my mind will be blown

[remy]

This album feels like Spirit and Merriweather had a baby that was raised by Strawberry Jam.

It's wonderful.

Try if you can, to imagine a world where Animal Collective hasn't blown peoples minds for a decade and a half and completely altered the modern understanding of music.
Then imagine this album coming out. Today. It couldn't.

There would be no precedent. People would vomit and smack their husbands.

One reason this band will always have my heart even when they do things I don't like - is that they created this. They created music that is even worth this discussion.

Furthermore - Animal Collective's reviews have always been kind of mind boggling on any media to me ever since ever. I mean...

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9571-hollinndagain/
Over an 8? They could digest that? Really?
Probably because it was very un-hip-avante-garde to like noise music in 2006

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/138 ... ire-songs/
Lower than Hollinndagain? Less palatable?

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/114 ... curses-ep/
Hmmm...

None of those numbers make sense to me.

Luckily - MUSIC ISN'T NUMBERS! (well...)

[IkoOvo]

the three songs I've heard feel like a culmination of what they've done lately in some ways
some of the songwriting reminds me a bit of slasher flicks
it feels way more comfortable and lighthearted though, which is really great

[kafkaesque]

if anyone's curious, the review has 31 sentences, and just 10 of them are addressing the music. that's less than a third. pretty offensive to these guys who obviously put a lot of work into this thing

[Cussing Bum]

Are AC playing Pitchfork fest this year?

[Tropic]

Afrizzle wrote:

Anyone feel like this album woulda been better if they wrote the songs together instead of for eachother?? I love every song avey made but a lot of the panda tracks are very samey and bland to me.

I'm not sure to what extent this applies. Like, I don't think they literally wrote eight songs each and then handed them over to one another. Both Lying in the Grass and Vertical are blatantly the lead singer's track. FloriDada sounds like Aveys too. I think it's possible Panda wrote The Burglars, and Avey did write Bagels and Panda sings lead on that(?). I dunno, I heard the quote too but I don't exactly hear it.

[Tropic]

Hiff Cluxtable wrote:

Are AC playing Pitchfork fest this year?

No, I don't think so, are they?

The Pitchfork review was, in essence, the publication washing their hands of the band. They aren't as relevant anymore, so they don't need them to play at their festival, hence the ridiculously low score. That's really all have to say on it.

[Cussing Bum]

Tropic of Cans wrote:

Hiff Cluxtable wrote:

Are AC playing Pitchfork fest this year?

No, I don't think so, are they?

The Pitchfork review was, in essence, the publication washing their hands of the band. They aren't as relevant anymore, so they don't need them to play at their festival, hence the ridiculously low score. That's really all have to say on it.

There's not a lot of value to this line of speculation, but since you posited this, I think it's worth considering the reverse. They were asked, they declined, and...here we are. It's not just the score. They didn't even review the three tracks that were released. I dunno...

Like I said, no one knows.

[Tropic]

Yeah, I could see that happening too. Though I guess I don't know why they would turn down playing at P4k.

But I dunno I felt like this score was on the cards for a long time. They can't just keep highly praising the same bands forever. Think it will happen with Radiohead this year as well... maybe

[tdegenaro]

Tropic of Cans wrote:

The Pitchfork review was, in essence, the publication washing their hands of the band. They aren't as relevant anymore, so they don't need them to play at their festival, hence the ridiculously low score. That's really all have to say on it.

I don't think the publication is "washing their hands of the band," they did lots of coverage of the rollout, tour, singles, etc. They didn't review the singles, and they gave the album a 1.2 score higher than average. Granted, its via the dumbshits on /r/AnimalCollective, but I'm sort of buying the rumored possibility of AC's being at Pitchfork. They've played it twice, headlined it twice, and Avey & Peebs have both also done multiple sets with sideprojects at the Fest, as well as see happy amounts of coverage in the news.

Let's remember that 6.2 isn't a terrible score. And re: relevance, sure, the 'surprise' of AnCo might be long gone, SO LET'S BUY THEIR RECORD ESPECIALLY IF YOU STOLE A FREEBIRD and lets SELL OUT THEIR GODDAMN SHOWS.

[CallAnyVegetable]

Ahem.

Way too long-winded opinion piece.

Pardon me, guys. Had to get that off my chest.

[robgnarr]

Pitchfork is trash these days, I really think they don't care about INDIE music anymore.

[tulis]

my shipment started in ann arbor and went to jersey city.

i live in Austin.

"Your item arrived at our USPS facility in JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 on February 15, 2016 at 11:11 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination."

[Synusoid]

tdegenaro wrote:

Granted, its via the dumbshits on /r/AnimalCollective

Your post lost all credibility here

edit: nevermind

[speen]

Petition to stop talking about pitchfork altogether in this thread

[r1pvanw1nkl3]

totally derailed this thread

[tdegenaro]

Synusoid wrote:

tdegenaro wrote:

Granted, its via the dumbshits on /r/AnimalCollective

Your post lost all credibility here

Because I called them (and my self, I guess, I post there too) dumbshits or because I'm citing those dumbshits?

[Synusoid]

tdegenaro wrote:

Synusoid wrote:

tdegenaro wrote:

Granted, its via the dumbshits on /r/AnimalCollective

Your post lost all credibility here

Because I called them (and my self, I guess, I post there too) dumbshits or because I'm citing those dumbshits?

Because it sounded like a generalization about people who go on /r/AnimalCollective, but I guess you weren't really being that serious, my bad

EDIT: Animal Collective

Also have they announced tour dates for Florida yet? I heard they would talk about extra tour locations at a later time

[MisterMagpie]

CallAnyVegetable wrote:

Spoiler: show

The Pitchfork review is really, really frustratingly articulated to me. Maybe it's just me - I dunno - I'm new as an official member here so you can burn me at the stake if you need to; I'd understand. But in my opinion as someone who has written reviews on a personal level for a reeeeally long time (and absolutely publicly acknowledging my lack of professional credibility other than about 10-years-worth of blog reviews), this review is just badly written in terms of describing why it got the rating it did. I'm not saying his opinion is wrong; it's his opinion. Obviously. But the review really struck a nerve with me because it's going to be a touchstone for a lot of people who wanted to wait until Friday to hear it and completely avoided CA or aren't as enthusiastic as we all are about this band but may have been curious to hear what Pitchfork had to say about it. And Mike Powell said nearly nothing about it. Nearly fucking nothing. It's a hastily-collected opinion piece on the half-mirror side of what a lot of people here are saying and he has absolutely every right to air it to the public but for him to do so in the (mostly) respected online venue of Pitchfork? It's unprofessional at best. It is, essentially, a message board opinion put to online publication.

Mike wrote a really good review of Courtney Barnett's Sometimes I Sit.... It was one of my favorite reviews I've read on Pitchfork because he did a great job of articulating how he personally felt about it. If I were to imagine myself as someone who had not heard that album (or even Courtney Barnett for that matter) and then read that review, I would really want to hear it (and of course a it's ok label helps). But the point of a music review, to me as a person that writes them, is not to just be an article for people to agree or disagree with, though I know they will; it's an article that explores an avenue of describing what you feel to another person in enough detail to make them understand why but also how you formed that opinion. Mike Powell's review does not explore at all. He makes some points that do stick, yes, but he basically gives his personal history of how he came to love Animal Collective in vivid wording and then basically says "Painting With? Nah. Couple good tunes here but it's not Sung Tongs or Here Comes The Indian because I didn't see them perform this material in a Chinese restaurant's basement. Move along." Is it succinct? Sure! Is it something I expected from someone that writes for a music review website that essentially bred my love for a great portion of my music taste because of the amount of colorful detail that they seasoned their reviews with? Absolutely not. This guy's review is as relevant as my own wordy post here, which I'm sure will be shot down in some way. But typing all of this is worth it because I loved reading other people's descriptions of music I had not heard yet and Animal Collective was the first band that I checked out because of how someone else passionately described them. This band is worth more than this half-assed review to me.

Pardon me, guys. Had to get that off my chest.

this is exactly the problem with the pitchfork review. It's not just some knee-jerk reaction going "fuck them 6.2 bullshit" its that the review did nothing to justify the score.

tulis wrote:

my shipment started in ann arbor and went to jersey city.

i live in Austin.

"Your item arrived at our USPS facility in JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 on February 15, 2016 at 11:11 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination."

Bro, I am having a similar experience do not worry. I live in Wisco and my LP started in Ann Arbor and is now in Jersey City as well

[Tropic]

[tdegenaro]

Synusoid wrote:

tdegenaro wrote:

Synusoid wrote:

tdegenaro wrote:

Granted, its via the dumbshits on /r/AnimalCollective

Your post lost all credibility here

Because I called them (and my self, I guess, I post there too) dumbshits or because I'm citing those dumbshits?

Because it sounded like a generalization about people who go on /r/AnimalCollective, but I guess you weren't really being that serious, my bad

EDIT: Animal Collective

Also have they announced tour dates for Florida yet? I heard they would talk about extra tour locations at a later time

Yo, it chill. I'm one of those dumbshits for sure. I just think the level of discourse is much MUCH higher on CA than Reddit. But I play both, so what the do I know?

[r1pvanw1nkl3]

Spoiler: show

Tropic of Cans wrote:

avey tare takes down the entire review

sick burn

ouch

[CallAnyVegetable]

robgnarr wrote:

Pitchfork is trash these days, I really think they don't care about INDIE music anymore.

[s]My own opinion[/s]

Goddammit, Avey, you lovable man, you. Deleting my waste of words-per-minute post. Let's fucking have fun here guys. Anyone going to the Asheville Orange Peel show in May?