Collected Animals

Floridada - yellow and blue, no dominant colour or mood, lots of swirls, quite hard to pin down, in fact.

Hocus Pocus - similar confusion, I'm starting to suspect the lack of character and warmth to the synth sounds, the vocal harmonies make me visualise these burnt orange streaks across the dark canvas, though.

Vertical - pale blue and green for the vocals, plenty of movement, swirls again, the thin synths add very pale texture and highlights to this. Again, not a lot of richness to the instrumentation so the warmth all comes from the vocals.

Lying In The Grass - kind of gross, like TMNT green and Splinter smoking jacket purple, the piano and sax add some white light to cut through it. The downbeat harmony matches the slightly grimy palette. This is a really weird diversion for AC and Noah, kind of channels the Mr. Noah sludge.

Burglars - Those overdriven flangey synths again, no particular emotions or colour to them, just white and grey. The vocals are like Vertical again, quite thin and light, make me visualise sky blues.

Natural Selection - very similar to Hocus Pocus, the synths are more squelchy again, more like black background with the orange and yellow vocals smeared across them, the sneaky ways are bright orange, thick acrylic paint.

Bagels In Kiev - the hazy opening actually has lots of muted colour, quite pastoral, the verses are also quite muted for me, purple and green like LITG but less cartoony, the middle section bursts open with yellow and blue, kind of like Father Time.

On Delay - the most vibrant tones so far, the undulating synth is a purple river and Dave's verses are back to that thin sky blue while Noah is smearing yellow and orange across the top, really great mixture here, this synth sound feels more warm and rich and human. Then you've got the splashes of yellow and white piano and it all gets very bright before the purple synth comes back and Noah sets the sun with those swooping orange strokes.

Spilling Guts - again, the synths are much more alive, this is bright orange and red, song of the album for me, so full of life and joy, the vocals are thick and oily, liberal splodges, very primary school classroom wall.

Summing The Wretch - quite warmed up now, Noah's voice is so orangey. The backing track is very dark again but more purple than grey and black. 'Don't get caught' is really rich and red and orange.

Golden Gal - Dave goes Noah. Rich and warm, from yellow to red, quite rusty.

Recycling - Noah goes Dave. This sounded like pale blue to me from the first listen. The backing track is like turquoise mac and cheese, rounded edges, quite cartoony, and the vocals are very yellow and blue, those higher white notes mixed into the melody are like Aquafresh toothpaste with the stripes, blue and white lines mixed together.

Agree with all of that, nice ^

edit: oops. next page'd

Hocus Pocus seems brown
Vertical and the Burglars are colourless but very shiny to me

Over at the Deakin board stuff is getting tense with the PW-shit talking. That might be hyperbole.

But honestly, I could see if someone didn't love PW, or PW wasn't their fav, or maybe even didn't like PW, but I honestly do not understand how someone could hate PW. Could a hater/disliker free associate about the record?

And for the love of god's holy taint don't be lazy and just cut and paste in the useless the magic ins't there cliche

ktkxbye

the magic is in you

i dont think its tense over there, i just think a lot of people like it more than pw haha

And for the love of god's holy taint don't be lazy and just cut and paste in the useless the magic ins't there cliche

epic formatting fail...

I think both PW and SC are both stunning in different ways.
It's not like you can even really compare them. Both are so vastly different.

on my 25th listen of PW rn. i'm in that period with it where I step away for a bit and come back kind of uncertain that I really like it as much as I think I do but then Floridada comes on and I get so psyched, I definitely like this as much as I think I do (a lot).

I think both PW and SC are both stunning in different ways.
It's not like you can even really compare them. Both are so vastly different.

Thank you

my love for PW continues to grow!

it's a shame people got burnt out on "floridada" before the album even dropped. for me, it's just an ecstatic hyper joyous moment when i get to put the album on and i'm just instantly spinning in glorious reveries of happiness and reckless childlike glee.

the album is an incredible journey. i maintain the opinion side A is PERFECT, and side B is nearly there as well.... it ends incredibly strongly.

i like bagels in kiev and lying in the grass

controversial opinion:
my favorite thing to come out of painting with is michael, remember

It's the first AC album since Danse that I don't really like, and that makes me sad. Floridada's still a jam, though.

I wonder if PW would've been received differently if Sleep Cycle came first. I bet if the need for "magic" was satiated by that then people might've been more open to something different with Painting With.

That being said, I love both of them and they're already pushing into my top tier of AC releases

maybe it's just me, but I think the power levels of both releases are over 9,000

maybe it's just me, but I think the power levels of both releases are over 9,000

It's the first AC album since Danse that I don't really like, and that makes me sad. Floridada's still a jam, though.

i think i like pw a lot in the same way i like danse

Still holding out for In the Singing Box getting played live, shit

NOWS THE TIME

Over at the Deakin board stuff is getting tense with the PW-shit talking. That might be hyperbole.

But honestly, I could see if someone didn't love PW, or PW wasn't their fav, or maybe even didn't like PW, but I honestly do not understand how someone could hate PW. Could a hater/disliker free associate about the record?

And for the love of god's holy taint don't be lazy and just cut and paste in the useless the dragon ball ins't there cliche

ktkxbye

LeadHat wrote:

I think both PW and SC are both stunning in different ways.
It's not like you can even really compare them. Both are so vastly different.

Thank you

like that isn't a cliche.

on my 25th listen of PW rn. i'm in that period with it where I step away for a bit and come back kind of uncertain that I really like it as much as I think I do but then Floridada comes on and I get so psyched, I definitely like this as much as I think I do (a lot).

same boat as you man, except for me it was prompted by listening to that new kcrw performance. just wish i could get more into vertical

Tap wrote:

on my 25th listen of PW rn. i'm in that period with it where I step away for a bit and come back kind of uncertain that I really like it as much as I think I do but then Floridada comes on and I get so psyched, I definitely like this as much as I think I do (a lot).

same boat as you man, except for me it was prompted by listening to that new kcrw performance. just wish i could get more into vertical

Agreed! The forms these songs take live add such a colorful dimension to this era of the band.

I've followed Animal Collective's every move for thirteen years now, savored every record, loved each as a unique statement/piece of art… I've been listening to this record almost every day since it was released and, although I know many will disagree, I'm ready to admit… Painting With is Animal Collective's masterpiece.

The vibes, textures, compositions, rhythms, words, everything. Comparing music is silly, yes, but in the context of their catalogue I can't help but see this as a singular achievement for the band. It really stands out, to me. It's less contemplative than previous records, but feels like their most physical one. It's beautifully frantic and inventive, and yet so primal. It seems, to me, like the most observant document/cultural artifact of our weird, frenetic times I've experienced in a while. And yet it sounds entirely original. Magic, in other words.

my 2 cents...

Anyhow, I just feel a surge of something like pride when fellow human beings create something so articulate and beautiful. Same goes for Sleep Cycle. This band makes me want to jump for joy. And I often do.

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts/feelings about this record. Enjoy reading it all, positive and negative. Good times

I do still feel, after listening to this many times, that this is far and away their worst band release in every conceivable way, and perhaps the worst thing released by any of them save for Slasher Flicks.

I do still feel, after listening to this many times, that this is far and away their worst band release in every conceivable way, and perhaps the worst thing released by any of them save for Slasher Flicks.

Slasher Flicks was a great side project, what? And Painting With being their worst release? Absolute nonsense.

people sleep on danse but once they figure it out...holy shit...

if u havent heard the "heartbeat"/the BWOOMM of living toys then u havent truly listened to danse manatee b4 u just kept it on in the backround while u jerked off

Mütterlein wrote:

I do still feel, after listening to this many times, that this is far and away their worst band release in every conceivable way, and perhaps the worst thing released by any of them save for Slasher Flicks.

Slasher Flicks was a great side project, what? And Painting With being their worst release? Absolute nonsense.

I'm really, seriously not a fan of this "tightly constructed pop song" phase that they've been going through. The only releases that I like less than those are Monkey Been to Burn-Town and TTG, neither of which i really count.

Edit: obviously i should try to talk about this in more depth, but I just find it really confusing and gross that they've gone in this direction recently. It's like the opposite of what I wanted most after CHz (which I did and do still mostly love). I genuinely find Slasher Flicks and the majority of Painting With to be actively annoying and cloyingly juvenile in ways that feel, not inauthentic, but not really "positive" in the way that much of their earlier music was able to conjure a sort of transcendent childishness.

obviously i should try to talk about this in more depth

EHH

I do still feel, after listening to this many times, that this is far and away their worst band release in every conceivable way, and perhaps the worst thing released by any of them save for Slasher Flicks.

Slasher Flicks wasn't that bad. There was some incredible songwriting lurking beneath all the noise and it was a lot of fun, which is more than I can say about most of PW.

i mean, its definitely their worst album

not saying its bad, its fine, its just their worst album

and yes danse is beautiful and painful and wonderful

oy

fuck that. painting with and slasher flicks are two of their best releases

I mean, it's definitely their best album. Obviously.

This is fact. Whether you enjoy the album or not is irrelevant.

was drunk when i wrote that. i dont normally like to be so directly negative about any album

A better way of saying that was it's my least favorite ac album, i personally find it uninspired and unexciting

As far as slasher flicks goes, I actually like it a lot, it has some really great songs. its a bit choked by the production but still fun

Remember when the Pitchfork and Needle Drop reviews came out and everyone disagreed with the notion that "it's lacking the magic of the old records"? What happened to that? Everyone's kinda just jumped on that bandwagon. Is it because of the new Deakin album?

I still love this album and it's obviously no where near their best output but at the same time, it's no where near the worst thing they've put out there. I still think this album is a lot better than Centipede Hz and maybe even a step in the right direction, but hey that's just me.

Edit: So ma/gic gets censored to magic now? Weird

Remember when the Pitchfork and Needle Drop reviews came out and everyone disagreed with the notion that "it's lacking the dragon ball of the old records"? What happened to that? Everyone's kinda just jumped on that bandwagon. Is it because of the new Deakin album?

ya seriously yall so fickle

the consensus here has always been mostly positive with a few old fogies who are stuck in the past and still flabbergasted they arent making Feels/hcti 5 right now. i love this album but lately when i think about it it does seem kind of strict or retentive or something... like i do kinda wonder abt how they seem like they had 2 create so many rules for themselves on this album... i mean i think this album is fucking perfect and the live shows have been so fucking ace but the deakin lp does have me kinda already wanting to hear the next thing cuz im crazy spoiled and i have an insatiable appetite. but im already dreaming of a studio LP with some deakin songs/harmonizing or a new Avey solo LP... i wanna hear them let their hair down

AudibleKayak wrote:

Remember when the Pitchfork and Needle Drop reviews came out and everyone disagreed with the notion that "it's lacking the dragon ball of the old records"? What happened to that? Everyone's kinda just jumped on that bandwagon. Is it because of the new Deakin album?

ya seriously yall so fickle

That wasn't what I was trying to say with that post. I'm just genuinely interested in why people have changed their minds about PW. Let's be nice now.

There's lots of valid reason's to not like this newest Animal Collective album. Same as every other Animal Collective album. Like the change with percussion, where its totally steady and just embellished upon rather than something that shifts and gives a song a more dynamic feeling. I think that's opened up some exciting new territory, but it's totally fair to be turned off by that and unexcited. There's a lot of stuff like that. I would strongly disagree with adjectives like uninspired, I think that would be more appropriate if they weren't pushing their sound to somewhere new for them. But not being on board for what's happening here is totally legitimate.

you guys are so into "validity" when it comes to liking or not liking something, and anyone who doesnt like pw or finds it unexciting like i do is "stuck in the past"

chill lol