Animal Collective - Centipede Hz. Review

To say you liked Merriweather Post Pavilion but find the majority of Animal Collective discography, for lack of better terms “difficult” is blasphemy to their very dedicated fanbase. The problem with MPP was Animal Collective managed to create one of the most innovative pop records for the past century, at the expense of the experimentation that made them so endearing and different from your run of the mill “alternative” band.


Fortunately, if you’re a fan of their work prior to MPP, Centipede Hz. does mark a return to the years of sonic distortion insanity, the kookiness, the “throw everything against the wall” attitude that made Strawberry Jam, Sung Tungs and Feels enjoyable albums.

Even with that attitude, none of the previous albums sound quite as cluttered and messy as Centipede Hz.. Whilst Opener Moonjock is gloriously chaotic with big beats, breathless vocals and a fantastic chorus that leads into superb lead single Today’s Supernatural, somehow creating something that’s part Arabian Nights, part Africana, part Angst-Rock.

Finding itself slap-bang in the middle; Wide Eyed is far more minimal than the songs preceding it, with a simple yet addictive drum sample, Deakin’s distinctive vocals that keep the song more grounded, it’s easily one of the album’s best tracks and offers Centipede Hz.’s potential in five minutes.

But the album is far from perfect and there is a distinct amount of filler throughout. New Town Burnout lives up to its name by being far too long and lacking any sort of bite. Coming up towards the end; Mercury Man sounds like another attempt recording Today’s Supernatural, but with the end result is disappointing. Combining more sampled drumming with screams but with a traditional song structure that again, offers nothing new.

As an album, it does flow together quite well; segueing sampled and distorted radio feedback between tracks and main vocalist Avey Tare’s never doing anything less than borderline rapping. Stylistically, this works, as Centipede Hz. is really an album fixated on Baltimore, with the chaotic sounds and (when their coherent enough) lyrics focusing on larger than life characters and scene’s that can only be fount in one of America’s more infamous cities.

The main problem however, lies with sound where songs can be far too congested and sound difficult for difficulty’s sake. If you liked MPP (or more accurately, My Girls) but find everything else a bit too much., there’s probably something on Centipede Hz. that can tide you over but the album never attempts to recreate what made MPP so fantastic.

For long term fans, there’s a sense of cluttering déja vu and a return to the days of yonder, but it’s far too congested and manic for it’s own good and ultimately and unfortunately; they have done better.

6/10

H

@Retcon_Nation