Whilst Animal Collective's last album did become a grower in the surprising amount of time between it's release and their latest, album ten Painting With sees the band drift further from their experimentation routes to a more formulaic brand of pop (if such a thing was possible with them).
Thankfully, despite formulaic usually being a buzz-word for negative familiarity, the band sound far more engaging, with an album full of catchy choruses and easier-to-digest song structures. The songs are much shorter than usual, now consisting of three to four minute pop bites and, if you (like me) thought Merriweather Post Pavilion was where the band reached their zenith, Painting With's sound is more of the same, but in more condensed bites.
FloriDada continues where Centipede Hz. left off with a frantic pace consisting of catchy beat and a simple chorus that will be stuck in your head for weeks. Bagels in Kiev mixes r'n'b with stories of an older generation which will probably be lost due to the vocal delivery. Standout Golden Gal takes sampling of Centipede Hz. with a catchy chorus, surprisingly empowering lyrics for any female listeners and sampling from the TV show of the same name, it should be a calamity but it's arguably the best track.
Whilst there are some lulls, the album is thankfully short and condensed enough to never outstay it's welcome. As always, the production of the album is superb and despite in their now seventeenth year as a band, there's still no-one out there that produces anything close to their signature sound, even at it's most poppy.
Unless you have gripes about the band's direction into more generic territory, Painting With is a fun ride which sees the band at their most condensed but at their most pure too. Full of catchy songs with some surprisingly good lyrics, even if you've never given them a listen as you've fount them too inaccessible, Painting With is well worth a try.
8/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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