[samthefireball]

northernchild wrote:

I think this has been said in one way or another, but it's kind of refreshing to get these vitriolic reviews. I think it would be much safer for them to make an album very similar to an older one, but clearly the change has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. It's exciting-- I'm not sure it's like Dylan playing electric guitar at Newport, but it's better than no change.

It is nice, it feels like the opposite of what happened after PBVGR. I remember feeling at those shows that most of the fans were very new, and the album happened to intersect with their music exposure (EDM/well-marketed). This reaction kind of reverses that trend, and I have hopes that maybe the shows will be more intimate.

Avey's low-key reaction to the criticism also shows how much they believe in their work, and in that interview where he said "half the reason we do this is for our dedicated fan base." It all makes me feel warm.

Like someone else said, AC is ours again. haha.

[samthefireball]

Also, anyone looking for Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam.... Just go listen to Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam

[time4sumranch]

anyone who says they can't see the magic in this album is LUDACRIS

Spoiler: show

[doggyinacoma]

time4sumranch wrote:

anyone who says they can't see the magic in this album is LUDACRIS

Spoiler: show

I bet even HE Could see the magic

[speen]

would anyone else be down for a separate thread specifically for us to fully review the album? journalist style? make a long post with your full opinion?

[Chak-]

samthefireball wrote:

Also, anyone looking for Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam.... Just go listen to Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam

Well said

[faded arrow]

samthefireball wrote:

Also, anyone looking for Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam.... Just go listen to Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam

is it wrong to hope they had it in them for another round of that kind of 'magic' though? chz had the ambition to be like those and a lot of people felt it fell short for one reason or another. am i wrong for being disappointed that its follow-up falls even shorter?

not trying to be a downer, just trying to understand this album still and it hasnt been easy for me...

[speen]

im with you faded

i wasnt asking for another strawb or feels, i was looking forward to another animal collective album that made me feel similarly. i thought chz would be their rock/jam break from that, and i was cool with that, but i kinda thought this would be a return, or a middle ground...

[Tap]

"this new animal collective doesn't fit into my pre-existing animal collective hole" - everyone, since forever

[faded arrow]

Tap wrote:

"this new animal collective doesn't fit into my pre-existing animal collective hole" - everyone, since forever

i dont think thats fair to say. sung tongs is different from feels which is different from strawberry jam which is different from mpp, but they all have a certain magic to them that ties them together as work from the same band and i love them. basically, i feel like i dont know who made this album when i look at what different things theyve been capable of

[Tap]

when you say magic what exactly do you mean?

[Ethmin]

What don't you guys like about it besides this super vague idea of "magic".
Cause when I listen to it, I get the feels, I hear the magic still. It's there in the instrumental bridge of On delay. It's there in the muted relaxed tripped out outro of Recycling. It's there in the lyrics and melody of Natural Selection, which almost made me cry when I finally read the lyrics. Same goes for Golden Gal. Idk man I still hear the magic. The album is pretty stuffed with the stuff as far as I'm concerned.

[r1pvanw1nkl3]

anyone feel like on delay would've been a perfect closer? i mean i like recycling but i still don't quite understand it as a closer.

the end of on delay is like magiiiccc

[doggyinacoma]

demonclusters and faded, did you guys like SlasherFlicks and PBvsGR? jw

[samthefireball]

faded arrow wrote:

samthefireball wrote:

Also, anyone looking for Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam.... Just go listen to Feels/Sung Tongs/Strawberry Jam

is it wrong to hope they had it in them for another round of that kind of 'magic' though? chz had the ambition to be like those and a lot of people felt it fell short for one reason or another. am i wrong for being disappointed that its follow-up falls even shorter?

not trying to be a downer, just trying to understand this album still and it hasnt been easy for me...

You're not wrong at all. But hear me out. If they tried to make that same thing again, it would absolutely fall short. Those albums (feels, ST, SJ) are just perfectly themselves, there's no need to recreate them. That magic is well-documented.

This album to me is just really really fresh. It's where they are at mentally. It's the destination that their past albums have led up to. They're trying to create new magic. It's not trying to recreate their old tropes or stay stuck in the past- its trying to create new ones. That magic really is only in the now, And that's what they tapped into for this album. Time has changed, so has their music, so has their magic. You just have to let it infect you. Go where they are.

#1 recommendation: Feel the album in your body. Shut off your mind. Your body will respond to it very well. Your mind is the only obstacle to this amazing amazing album.

[walla221]

gah I really wanna drive up for the show tomorrow but stubhub is killing me

hoping for that day of sale price plummet

[Ethmin]

So turned on by the delay.

[faded arrow]

Tap wrote:

when you say magic what exactly do you mean?

i dont really know, its like trying to explain why some music is better than others. its hard to talk about... but those other albums felt like they came from someplace extremely special and unforced. maybe its because they toured with them and then took them into the studio. maybe that was always the difference maker and now that they changed it up it feels clinical/sterile to me. call me mike powell, i dont care but im still with the dude when he says 'work can be scheduled, magic can't". its not that the touring made the songs more exciting to fans, but i think the touring helped the songs find their purpose...

could that be it? i dont know

and yes i liked slasher flicks and i loved pbvsgr (one of my favorites of all time tbh). can't understand why something is off here

[samthefireball]

Also, faded. Literally, listen to it while being outside. I highly recommend a trampoline. Or going into the woods and just dance to it. I'm dead serious. The songs comes alive when you get physical with them

[northernchild]

@faded
this is gonna sound mean, but i'm just curious: did you experience each of those albums as they came out? If not, i think it's different to appreciate differences in the discography after the fact rather than being surprised by the differences. If so, I'm not sure I understand the "magic" thing, but I get that you feel like this might not click the way the others did. I'll admit I don't think this album will be as good as those in the long run, but that wasn't really my expectation.

[Wilbur]

[doggyinacoma]

yeah go play in a mudpit with this album on, the primordial goop will do you good

[samthefireball]

doggyinacoma wrote:

yeah go play in a mudpit with this album on, the primordial goop will do you good

I bet if any critic experienced the album this way it would be all smiles and 10/10

[speen]

doggyinacoma wrote:

demonclusters and faded, did you guys like SlasherFlicks and PBvsGR? jw

i had a pretty similar reaction to slasher flicks. i really enjoyed pbvsgr, but honestly, my opinion may be skewed by how entertaining the hype/development process was on here with the company of pete

honestly guys, im sorry if i dont like it as much as you... saying "it doesnt fit my preconceived vision of animal collective so its bad" isnt fair. i have loved every step of their career; i like here comes the indian as much (more tbh) as mpp. i have listened to painting with plenty of times now, and its certainly fun, but theres a certain animal-collectiveyness that isnt there for me, for one reason or another. its not the style change itself... idk, guys, its hard to put my finger on. i dont feel like im alone in this though

[faded arrow]

northernchild wrote:

@faded
this is gonna sound mean, but i'm just curious: did you experience each of those albums as they came out? If not, i think it's different to appreciate differences in the discography after the fact rather than being surprised by the differences. If so, I'm not sure I understand the "magic" thing, but I get that you feel like this might not click the way the others did. I'll admit I don't think this album will be as good as those in the long run, but that wasn't really my expectation.

i mean no, i think the first one i paid attention to was centipede hz but i dont think that can diminish what im getting at... i was born way after the first star wars movies came out but i can still tell you that the prequels suck in comparison

whatever i guess. i didnt really have any expectations for this, maybe some hopes but nothing serious. but im still confused

[doggyinacoma]

"A place that’s thrice best leading me into a feedback zone in which I lose time I’m finding new rhythms to hold on"

Feels-SJ-MPP leading me into CHz and i find new rythms to hold onto Painting With my bros

[samthefireball]

demon/faded- I don't feel like anyone is trying to say you're wrong. Just alot of us have found magic in it and really want to spread it. It's all love. Definitely not trying to be pushy or anything.

[Tap]

demonclusters wrote:

saying "it doesnt fit my preconceived vision of animal collective so its bad" isnt fair.

theres a certain animal-collectiveyness that isnt there for me, for one reason or another

that's literally what you are saying though. you have in your mind what animal collective is supposed to be, and this isn't it. and that's OK! but it is by no means a new phenomenon.

I think you guys will be better served by abandoning the idea of magic, and really getting down to what's different here. acknowledge that there are different things going on with this record and that these are things you don't like. maybe the pacing and elements of consistency eliminate the feeling of an ac album as a rich, varied sound world with peaks and valleys. And the vocals can sort of feel a bit smoothed out and consistent without the weirder sorts of ticks and flourishes on previous albums. there are plenty of reasons to not like this album, and that's ok. it's not because of magic tho.

[speen]

thats just, like, your opinion, man

[northernchild]

faded arrow wrote:

northernchild wrote:

@faded
this is gonna sound mean, but i'm just curious: did you experience each of those albums as they came out? If not, i think it's different to appreciate differences in the discography after the fact rather than being surprised by the differences. If so, I'm not sure I understand the "magic" thing, but I get that you feel like this might not click the way the others did. I'll admit I don't think this album will be as good as those in the long run, but that wasn't really my expectation.

i mean no, i think the first one i paid attention to was centipede hz but i dont think that can diminish what im getting at... i was born way after the first star wars movies came out but i can still tell you that the prequels suck in comparison

whatever i guess. i didnt really have any expectations for this, maybe some hopes but nothing serious. but im still confused

that fits with what i'm saying, i think (either way its not bad). using your star wars example, i'm saying someone who didn't experience the prequels as they came out might have a different experience. again, i was just curious for some context to that statement. as said above, love all around.

[Goku]

Fuck this album, it wasn't magic enough. When I listen to Here Comes The Indian snakes literally manifest in my home, and Feels helps me summon demons. It's like they didn't even draw sigils in the spectrals on this. 0/10

[samthefireball]

By the way, I relate to the frustration of not feelin the album when others are. PBVGR was a very frustrating album to me. It felt like Panda Bear died.

[doggyinacoma]

samthefireball wrote:

It was like Panda Bear died to me.

.....

[Zero Cool]

wrote:

If Painting With were a person, it’d be that student who can ace everything but is perfectly, maddeningly happy coasting with a B-minus. -Paste Mag

I think that one was wrote by my professors to annoy me and take revenge of all those times I made them go mad they always keep telling me that I don't put too much effort into my work, that I could do much better if I'd want to but I'm not going to please them because I have a life, friends, internet, skateboard, etc... I just want to have a good time just like AC in Painting With, which it came out in the perfect time. Reviewers, just like my profs are getting old and boring, I pity them (respect to all those rad adults. AC are just like my fav uncles, they do understand me).

I associate Painting With with my childhood memories, it's pretty strong, makes me feel so happy and free willing, it's synesthetic in a way 'cuz I can smell & taste stuff I experimented with when I was 10

PS
I'm perfectly, maddeningly happy coasting with an A-minus

[samthefireball]

doggyinacoma wrote:

samthefireball wrote:

It was like Panda Bear died to me.

.....

Felt like a rapid departure from YP and PP, and all the elements I connected with were gone and he made an edm album. Sorry to get off track tho. I think I'm joyous to not be on the negative side with this release

[HowardTJMoon]

samthefireball wrote:

By the way, I relate to the frustration of not feelin the album when others are. PBVGR was a very frustrating album to me. It felt like Panda Bear died.

I kind of felt like that initially too. give it a bit more time, once you kinda dig beneath the surface there's some good cuts on there.

PBVSGR does have alot of flab that could have been replaced by the EP tracks, though

[doggyinacoma]

samthefireball wrote:

doggyinacoma wrote:

samthefireball wrote:

It was like Panda Bear died to me.

.....

Felt like a rapid departure from YP and PP, and all the elements I connected with were gone and he made an edm album. Sorry to get off track tho. I think I'm joyous to not be on the negative side with this release

lmao i get it dude, just... it was supposed to sound like Panda Bear dying right? wasn't that the point?
just funny to me that what he was going for is what polarized a lot of his fans

[samthefireball]

doggyinacoma wrote:

samthefireball wrote:

doggyinacoma wrote:

samthefireball wrote:

It was like Panda Bear died to me.

.....

Felt like a rapid departure from YP and PP, and all the elements I connected with were gone and he made an edm album. Sorry to get off track tho. I think I'm joyous to not be on the negative side with this release

lmao i get it dude, just... it was supposed to sound like Panda Bear dying right? wasn't that the point?

.... hahahahahahhahahhahahahahah

[kafkaesque]

doggyinacoma wrote:

"A place that’s thrice best leading me into a feedback zone in which I lose time I’m finding new rhythms to hold on"

Feels-SJ-MPP leading me into CHz and i find new rythms to hold onto Painting With my bros

this is one of the best moments on the record. the piano kicks in, they gently sing "and it was..." and then launch into that beautiful line, which they repeat to emphasize its importance. anyone wanting magic on this record should look no further than 2:08 onward in "on delay"

[bubbbbbbbbbbbbbbbloy]

Ethmin wrote:

What don't you guys like about it besides this super vague idea of "magic".
Cause when I listen to it, I get the feels, I hear the magic still. It's there in the instrumental bridge of On delay. It's there in the muted relaxed tripped out outro of Recycling. It's there in the lyrics and melody of Natural Selection, which almost made me cry when I finally read the lyrics. Same goes for Golden Gal. Idk man I still hear the magic. The album is pretty stuffed with the stuff as far as I'm concerned.

MY MAN