Animal Collective's Latest

One listen in, Merriweather Post Pavilion is just okay IMO. It's clearly a grower album, as is everything by Noah Lennox, but I can't say I was blown away. I'm not a great arbiter since I'm fairly meh on AC in general. Too much of their stuff is just noise for the sake of noise. And Pitchfork's obsession with trumping up Animal Collective is almost Orwellian; I feel like half the people that rave about Feels would have instantly deleted it after downloading if Pitchfork hadn't obsessed over it. I do like Strawberry Jam, and there are definitely some great moments on this new record, but I definitely feel they get undue praise. I love the intro to Pitchfork's review:

Merriweather Post Pavilion, their latest full-length, has been anticipated to an almost ridiculous degree, with blogs and message boards lighting up with each scrap of new information or word of a possible leak.

Nearly all of this hype is the result of Pitchfork and its minions. Animal Collective is basically what it is because of Pitchfork. They are essentially one and the same. The "blogs and message boards" that were "lighting up" were likely all leaks about the OMG NEW!!111 AC RECORD EARLY '09!! that were posted by Pitchfork. Pitchfork's reviewing of Noah Lennox albums has about the same credibility as a Fox News Channel poll after an Obama/McCain debate. It's not like I'm making a call for "musical objectivity" or something, but Pitchfork and Animal Collective have established this mutually beneficial relationship that doesn't seem like it will ever end, regardless of how the music sounds. I almost want to stand outside the next Animal Collective show in NYC and ask concert-goers whether they "REALLY? Do you REALLY like this music?"

I don't hate Animal Collective... I just don't get the hype. Hipsters deserve to get ragged on sometimes.