Brightest Young Things

Back to the old school review for a week! This is the first disc I have ever purchased that I think sounds it’s best when played on my laptop. Somehow the mix is different through computer speakers and where the “thinning” of sound is usually a major detriment, here it enhances the songs and adds more depth and structure. Can’t possibly be a mistake and I am not sure how I feel about it.

 In a strange way it retains that quality Animal Collective has always had in being an experience best had with ones self. While this dispenses with a lot of the intimacy and studio quirks of past releases to be more direct it still is pretty damn obtuse. I had been listening to tracks in my car on satellite radio and they only got me jazzed in any way at a high volume – so high that I HAD to be by myself. Yet alone at my laptop it makes a lot more sense and only requires half the volume. Its organic music in the best sense that electronic music can be and they have always benefited by having environmental noises going on outside their hazy blanket of sound. When I put on earbuds or phones it makes the music colder and more detached in way that I know isn’t intended. All of this leaves me stumped as to whether it is ultimately a success.

Certainly it is good. But that means little. Animal Collective has been great before. “Sung Tongs” was amazing in spots like little else in the indie rock universe when they were really introduced to us. The expectation is that they are capable of even more with each record and the promise of accessibility brought with it heightened expectations. They deliver on some fronts with the accessibility but this is hardly LCD Soundsystem styled modern pop. Retaining the depth and circuitous nature of their music and singing (“Daily Routine” is a prime example) over what amounts to incredibly thin beds of instrumentation/pings+noises is icy and I am left feeling that they peeled back just for the sake of it and were left with thin melodies at best on too many occasions.

I more than suspect that Panda Bear spent his finest melodies on himself but then I am faced with the second half of “Bluish” prancing like an 80’s new pop masterwork after a blah first half or “Summertime Clothes” building to the chorus. Once I factor in the splendor and stomp of “My Girls” and the playful blitz of my closing favorite “Brother Sport” I have to admit I just have high expectations: Maybe too high.

This isn’t the record many had dreamed the band/collective would make. Not even close. It won’t stick to the ribs over the course of the entire year save a few songs. However, the high points are pretty high and shouldn’t be dismissed. They have that record in them. Just… not… quite… yet.

What’s it look like???? I was rough on the cheap visual pop of the cover in digital form but I made one of those silent promises to pick up the “hard” copy and give it a second chance. (Not to mention the wonder that I may be the only one on this site to ever own the physical disc after the downloading frenzy.)

The bit of trickery changes depending on the angle you hold the packaging at (straight on working best) and while it still has that “hmmm… neat… I think?” vibe, it generally looks like ugly nonsense in most situations. It is clearly all or nothing solely for the payoff of the eyeplay as the rest of the design retains no element what so ever of the covering. In fact, a colorful underwater scuba shot speaks to me about the music in a much more direct manner on the inner sleeve. The stretched tall hand made typography returns taking on the rich wash of color from the photo and what you are left with is a second package that isn’t groundbreaking but has a warmth and connection previously missing. It becomes a 50/50 proposition whether I hold on to the now unnecessary outer holder.

No design credit is given anywhere until you find that tiny print on the inside flap of the carrier. Cover image is courtesy of Akiyoshi Kitaoka (a Japanese psychology professor who has reams of these things) and the underwater image is “Devil’s Eye Spring” by David Doubilet. Rob Carmichael at SEEN handled all the layout etc… as he has for most of their work. Despite clearly having great taste in music (or good friends) I have never been a fan of Carmichael’s work. It should be noted that the band/label must have impressed Kitaoka, as he does not grant use of his work for commercial purposes often.

Closing out the week, the funny bastards at Chunklet asked that I do a poster for the upcoming Atlanta gig for NME coverstars Late Of The Pier (worst name of 09?) This guitar frenzy packed into dancing shoes batch of youngsters make music that conjures up images of crazed/sexy/mad/sorta naked robots for me. Maybe you agree?

John Foster owns his very own design firm, Bad People Good Things and is the author of  For Sale: Over 200 Innovative Solutions in Packaging Design (HOW), New Masters of Poster Design (Rockport), Maximum Page Design (HOW) as well as an upcoming collection of handmade graphics entitled Dirty Fingernails for Rockport and a monograph on Jeff Kleinsmith for Sub Pop Records.