Animal Collective releases EP "Fall Be Kind"

Not even a year after the release of the Merriweather Post Pavilion, indie favorites Animal Collective recently released their new EP Fall Be Kind. Avid Animal Collective fans will find that the five song EP does not stray too far from the sound that many have become familiar with, including songs that were written before and after Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Opening track "Graze," starts off on a high note, like waking up to chirping birds on an early Sunday morning. Like telling a story, singer Dave Portner (aka Avey Tare) comes in with "Let Me Begin/ Feels Good Cause' It's Early/ Ease Open My Eyes And Let Light In." It has a feel good tone, with Portner assuring you with lyrics like, "Let's Not Worry/ It's Our Morning." Back vocals sound distant, like echoes and shouts almost.

Piano trickles into the track and turns the tone of the song to be a little deeper and darker. The sound begins to fade out and static, cymbals and handclaps take over, letting the listener know something else is about to take place in the track.

Flute picks up immediately, making it cheery all around. This, combined with singing, beats and synthesizers bring it back to the tribal type beats listeners have become accustomed to. It makes the listener want to get up and frolic about almost, perhaps in a meadow. "Graze" in a meadow perhaps?

Deep synthesizers provide the bass to the song as it fades out and a smooth transition brings the listener to the next track, "What Would I Want? Sky." Sampling The Grateful Dead's "Unbroken Chain," the song opening is like the rewinding of an old vinyl still under a needle.

It starts off slower than expected after the build up from the ending of "Graze." Heavy bass dominates the track. Again, with skills for transitions, notes blur together as Portner's voice floods in.

A build up of noise eventually dies down as lyrics find their way in. Hints of tambourine, harp and other stringed instruments give a whimsical touch.
"Bleed" with a deep animated voice gives a darker feel as the track begins, like entering into an alternate universe.

Low strings and faint glass breaking opens as Portner and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) alternate between singing lines. They sound more like pleas than singing if anything.

"On The Highway," begins slowly with more crashing sounds. Again, a little slower than expected while Portner's voice trails in with his usual whisper. Sporadic tapping occurs, with what sounds like the tapping of drumsticks and tambourine.

The song's lyrics are like a window into what the band envisioned when writing the song. Describing things one might see on a highway, the track is very laid back.

With lyrics like "I Let The Bad Things Taunt / Or Do They Want To Haunt Me?/ I Do Not Know How They Find Me" makes it seem like driving on a highway, running away from troubles, which many people find themselves doing.

"I Let Some Hash Relax Me" is exactly how this song should be listened to. With various harmonies and just a relaxed vibe all around, the song is definitely more toned down than usual intensity the band conveys.

Final track "I Think I Can" has sounds that build up in anticipation. The anticipation is finally broken with rhythmic handclaps and intense drums that make you wish you had one to bang right along with the track.

With synthesizers, drums and piano, all the overlapping is distinct. It is like an organized chaos of sounds and rhythms, they don't make sense but in the way the band has merged them, they go together perfectly.

At 7:10 the track runs a little longer than one would like, expecting more of a change after the first three minutes, but at 2:09 the listener's wish is granted.

With xylophone notes and pounding mallets, the song picks up on a whimsical note. Roundabout choruses and singing then take over. Within the last 57 seconds, it all changes once again to a winding down as it was in the beginning of the song.

Ending on a single note, if performed live, this is where a dramatic exit would occur.

The songs on Fall Be Kind all have a hint of potentially belonging to Merriweather Post Pavilion, but have a more experimental feel.

For any Animal Collective fans, the EP is not a complete new sound, but one can hear how they have taken their existing sound and tried to mold it in another direction.

Whether that direction is good or bad is a decision up to the listener, but this release definitely has some fans eager for more.

Fall Be Kind is available now for digital download or for those who would like to own a physical copy, CDs and a 12" vinyl will be available on Dec. 12.