Merriweather Post Pavilion

When the dust clears, Animal Collective will be seen as one of the most influential bands of the 21st century's first decade, a group whose open-ended aesthetic expanded indie-rock's boundaries beyond the garage-minded rockist legions and opened the doors for the disparate likes of Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, High Places, et al. If Animal Collective's own sound can be considered a kind of modern psych-pop, then Merriweather Post Pavilion is their Sgt. Pepper, Pet Sounds and/or Forever Changes. The band's ninth album in nine years is a dizzying, heady rush of frothy tonal colors that focuses Animal Collective's freewheeling experimentalism into relatively concise song structures that are still open enough to allow for the element of surprise. Panda Bear and Avey Tare's rich, post-Beach Boys harmonies are in full flower here, delivering lyrics more focused on feeling than concept. Those heavenly harmonies often take center stage on these warm, joyous, cyclical tunes that seem equally informed by ambient house and ‘60s psychedelia, pointing a way forward that's not above the occasional fond glance at the trail behind. With Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective has undoubtedly released that most prized of pop phenomena: a great summer album.