Album of The Month: Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind

This month I would like to feature a record that is technically not an album but an E.P.  So welcome to the first installment of E.P. of The Month!  (LMFAO, elbow to the ribs).  Anywho, the record I have chosen is one that I have come back to recently and one that I enjoy very much (duh).  It is Fall Be Kind by Animal Collective.  I have become relatively familiar (not on a personal level) with Animal Collective over the past few years.  This indy, electro, experimental, hipster, art group began in Baltimore, Maryland and is currently based in, wait for it, New York City (surprise!).  The band's sound is difficult to pin down and that is partially why I enjoy them so much.  These Baltimore natives boast a solid catalog of ten full length albums and six E.P.'s since 2000.  At this point they have become a bit of a poster child for the whole indy, electronic music movement (whatever that is).

So. Fall Be Kind; released 2009.  It has a bit of everything: ambient soundscapes, funky beats, odd time signatures, abstract lyrics, smooth vocals, goofiness.  

Opening cut "Graze" begins with ambient textures and culminates with an upbeat carnival-esque synth vamp.  The second tune "What Would I Want? Sky" boasts the very first legally obtained Grateful Dead sample.  It is in 7/4 and one of my personal favs.  "Bleed" is a droning ambient piece with beautiful vocals.  "On A Highway" is a haunting, personal work containing tribal-esque beats and more distantly droning synths.  The final cut "I Think I Can" contains some minimalist, pulsing beats that include some overlapping Steve Reich-like hand claps; think Clapping Music (okay it isn't quite as intensive on the hand claps as this but you should get the idea).  Overall, this record is for those who are open minded and enjoy the occasional strange musical journey.  For those that are weary of such endeavors, this record is fortunately a short one and should provide an easy introduction to Animal Collective if you are not familiar with them.

Please check out this record!

Fall Be Kind on iTunes

Fall Be Kind on Spotify

Ty