ALBUM REVIEW
I must’ve missed the memo about Merriweather Post Pavilion, something about it seems to have enchanted, dazzled and caused messy orgasms of glee with critics and fans alike. I don’t get that out of this album. While I will concede that MPP (Meriweather Post Pavilion) is a fun record, an easy to listen to record, I don’t feel like it possesses the qualities of a great record. Having had MPP since it’s leak in December, I already feel it wearing thin on me. What kept me attentive and rapt at first don’t anymore. In short, the honeymoon’s over and now I have to look at MPP with eyes that aren’t obscured by a foggy haze.
The first major issue with MPP is that it lacks togetherness, the tracks don’t flow well within themselves, often constantly moving about like they lack confidence. Point in case being the closer “Brothersport”, it happens to be one of the best tracks on the album, but it also highlights how unstable the record’s energy is, moving from one movement to the next without caring about where the listener thinks it’s going. Animal’s Collective’s constant shifts disjoint the record greatly and take away from it’s synergy. I honestly have no idea what people are talking about when they talk about how well the record works as a whole because I can’t help but feel like the whole moves around too much to be together.
Another problem that the album suffers is that the tracks in the middle of the album drag the album past a comfortable length, I rarely find myself listening to the entire album anymore, just bits and pieces. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the album, but little beyond that. The album is a lot like sugar, sweet, immediately satisfying but never long lasting. In all honesty I’ll probably be spinning songs off this record for at least a few more months, but I don’t see it as an album that I’ll spin in two years, unlike Animal Colective’s Sung Tongs. And as a snide side note Kid A belongs on any best of the decade list.
