Animal Collective- Water Curses EP

The release of the next Animal Collective album is a bit over a month away as I write this, and while I look forward to it with great anticipation, the entire process of waiting for another release has me thinking about this band and why I love them so much. If you're merely the fan of a band, it suffices to say that you just like them and that's that. But if you're a critic like me, attempting to qualify your enjoyment can sometimes leave you speechless. Or word-less. Whatever. Often I become so taken with a movie, album, or videogame that I can't put into words why I like it until some time has passed. Or maybe I'm just so far down the rabbit hole that I haven't even given any thought as to the "why" of it all.

Well, let's step back and use Water Curses as a jumping off point for why I like this band. It's a neat four song EP, all unreleased songs that come from the sessions for last year's Strawberry Jam. In the same way that the People EP was like a last taste of the Feels album, I suppose. But I digress. I think a song by song breakdown is in order, and I'll use each to give a reason why I love this band:

1) Water Curses: Animal Collective releases, starting with Sung Tongs, have begun with incredibly strong opening tracks, and it's nice to see this practice carried over to an EP. This song has a bubbly feel, full of momentum and revelry. There's plenty of electronic wooshes, melodies, and snappy drum machines for the ear to enjoy; the effervescent vocals of Avey Tare and Panda Bear swoop, climb, dive, and twirl around the music, reminding me again that one of the things this band does best is push what vocals can do. Love them or hate them, the way this band uses vocals is instantly recognizable and uniquely them. Hey presto, reason one.

2) Street Flash: My initial impression of this song was that it was way too minimalist and slow for its own good. Reverbed organ chords hold the time while Avey Tare sermonizes to us through the inexplicable fog punctured occasionally by sound loops. As the song comes into focus the vocals are treated with a wah-pedal. Then we come to the startling moment where he asks "what's that twitching/is it still alive??" and the "alive" lyric is screamed. So, reason number two: the unexpected. Nothing is ever entirely predictable in an Animal Collective song. There is repetition in their music, yes, but also change--sudden change or gradual change. And any band that can master a feeling of repetition while also utilizing sudden or gradual change is endlessly listenable.

3) Cobwebs: Many have latched unto the "we're not going underground"/"I'm not going underground" line from this song, perhaps in response to dubious claims that Strawberry Jam was leaning further toward mainstream pop music than they ever had before. But the important lyric to me is "the more I move the less I'm free" bit and the gorgeous chant of the song's title that proceeds it. That is the stinger of the song, not the obvious supposed-commentary on their music. I love the lack of obvious-ness about their music. There's never an easy lyric or rhyme, never a rote chorus or bridge. And the meanings of the songs...you might think you know what it's "about" but on closer inspection it turns up something different.

4) Seal Eyeing: This one flows out of the end of 'Cobwebs' on a cloud of gurgling water sounds and the beautiful piano that begins right off the bat gives me a picture in my head of the band floating on lily pads on a pond and playing the song. A slight, meditative, and ambient mood piece, 'Seal Eyeing' reminds one that the band's music runs the gamut from up-tempo/happy/rocking fare like 'Water Curses' and 'Peacebone' to the slower/trippier/sadder pieces like this and 'Cuckoo Cuckoo.' This is the last reason I love the band. Like any great artist, they can switch tone and style yet still maintain consistent quality and an unique aesthetic. Even if he isn't known for it, Stephen King gets funny or romantic sometimes, after all.

Animal Collective have been making music since the beginning of this decade and it's surprising what a significant portion of that time has felt defined by them. With each successive release their cache increases more and more. While their EPs have never been quite up to the same standard as their albums, Water Curses changes all that. It feels like a companion piece to Strawberry Jam in the way People didn't to Feels yet still retains a feel and pacing of its own. Not only that, it's the best and most consistent EP of their career. You can tell they must have agonized over these four songs because they're all very good but don't fit in with Strawberry Jam as well as that set of songs did together.

Lucky for us we have the EP format. Luckier still that bands like Animal Collective take advantage of its artistic potential.