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Feels

Animal Collective
Fat Cat Records

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Animal Collective - Feels Surely there have been people in the world that understood the subtlest of nuances of Animal Collective’s music, from the very first strain of sunny, strange psychedelia. It would be a dirty lie to suggest to you that I was among them – that, despite having been weaned on the healing power of pop, that something just clicked the first time someone turned the volume up on "Here Comes the Indian" in my presence.

This is not an easy band get into, and upon initial listens, there’s an undeniable tendency toward frustration and indifference when confronted with the band's strange and unholy sonic architecture. It took a year of occasional attempts, loading songs onto the iPod, taking them onto the road, forcing exercise upon aural muscles insanely atrophied after long years of bombardment with major-scale verse-chorus-verse arrangements.

On Feels, the collective managed to thaw away some inaccessibility. The whole record swirls and vibrates on some amazing frequency upon initial listens. “Grass” and “Turn Into Something” are almost pop songs. While there are a million little nuances that you’ll never be able to grasp the first time around, it’s clearer than ever from the get-go – the constantly building chug of “Did You See the Words” – that the group is again operating well within the realm of sublime greatness. By the time the rapid-fire drumsticks and tom of “Purple Bottle” give way to the words "Sometimes I’m naked / And (thank God) sometimes you’re naked,” there’s no going back.

Animal Collective’s majestic heights have never been more grounded, and it’s never been easier to jump on for a ride. While the record’s nine tracks certainly invite hours of devoted listening, rarely, if ever are they a chore. They're just recognition of a great band that keeps getting better, clearing the brush from new musical landscapes with glee and excitement thankfully no longer hidden behind colorful masks.

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Feels

Animal Collective Fat Cat Records

Animal Collective
Fat Cat Records