{grate 4.5} Although Animal Collective falls into the noise rock genre
as far as musical conventions go, Water Curses is far from a cacophony — it’s a
musical alchemy that confidently contends as one of the best EPs of the year.
Like Salvador Dali capturing a Freudian dreamscape on canvas, Avey Tare, Panda
Bear, Deakin and Geologist of the Baltimore-raised quartet tap into the
hauntingly pristine surrealism of the subconscious and create magic in audio
format.
Fortifying the anticipation of the follow-up to Strawberry
Jam, the chaotic beauty and psychedelic exuberance of “Street Flash” are as
delightfully addicting to fans as a showering of jellybeans are to sugar fiends
in dire need of a sweet fix. The collaborative originality and ingenuity of the
childhood friends are unmistakable; their experimental reverb, hummable
melodies and exotic animal sounds spew forth aural pleasure for eager ears all
around.
Underlying Animal Collective’s fairly indecipherable vocals
are contemplative songwriting and buried themes open to interpretation. In
“Water Curses,” the boys hint at the convergence of reality and imagination
with “All the things that I relate to/ like covers and paintings/ transparent
paper greens/ up above me while I sleep/ to make the room more natural/ to die
in, die in, die” and “My mouth is just an ocean of drool/ Standing on the
bridge I/ wink at you from up high/ a talking fish comes as she moves.” The
only critique arises after the 15-minute melodious dream spell ends, provoking
the same sense of forlornness that surfaces as the 25-cent kiddy carousel slows
to a stop.
Enchanting fans with an amalgamation of sound effects fused
with transcendental songwriting, Water Curses’ surrealist nature slips
languidly into your body like an invigorating magic elixir with a twist of a
electric parade. Being of the utmost musical excellence, Animal Collective
draws upon an otherworldly realm of inspiration, taking music to a whole new
level.
