As gloriously justified as any long-time fan of Animal Collective must feel given Merriweather Post Pavilion’s recent indie-domination, I also feel that sliver of remorse which arises when you realize things will never quite be the same. Before that record’s svelte and juicy electronic-tinged pop songs, Animal Collective was a band to admire but also fear. They’re so prolific and so versatile, you never knew if their next record would be a scream-fest mess like their earliest releases (and most of their live shows, for that matter) or a bonafide classic. So when you’d play a new AC LP for the first time, you never took anything for granted; the lovely, echo-drenched mantras of ‘Loch Raven’, the blistering squawks that boldly intercept ‘Grass’, or the steady build of freak-folk momentum that crests through ‘Did You See the Words?’. Feels was polished to be so tantalizingly raw, written to be suffocated in muddy electric guitars, and destined to capture Animal Collective at the prime; of their Fat Cat discography? Sure, but in the prime of their DIY incorruptibility too.
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