City Vibes

 |  February 25, 2009

Artist:
Animal Collective
Album:
Merriweather Post Pavillion
Rating:

The ninth release from this Brooklyn/Baltimore behemoth plunges deeper into the feverish eclecticism that has been the nucleaus of Animal Collective since their inception. On Merriweather… vocalists Dave Portner and Noah Lennox let their lyrics drift softly, guided by orchestral and ghostly harmonies, both dream-like and rigidly alert. Each track offers something new and imaginative, from the burning melodies of ‘My Girls’ to the idiosyncratic virtuosity of ‘Brother Sport’. Merriweather… offers such a broad spectrum of excellence it is difficult to imagine a more profound and well-crafted release this year. Essential.

Artist:
Antony and the Johnsons
Album:
The Crying Light
Rating:

On his third sublime long player, Canadian Antony Hegarty once again achieves an impressive metamorphosis, this time articulating a truly moving musical voyage. The Crying Light’s ten tracks glide between emotive and operatic ballads, sultry acoustic guitars and stirring strings, welded together by Hegarty’s inspired lyrics. Perhaps too morbid and melancholic for some, Hegarty’s haunting vocals hover and quiver throughout the release, either touching the listener deeply or turning them off along with their stereo. Those that do connect with this album will be rewarded with high quality, introspective and mature tracks.

Artist:
Squarepusher
Album:
Numbers Lucent EP
Rating:

Anyone familiar with Squarepusher will know that his tracks crackle with strangeness and imagination, delivering a musical vision that is both twisted and sonically beautiful. On his latest release, the roaring amen breaks and blissed-out ambience that once held everything together has been replaced by an unhinged miasma of meaningless words and electro-noise. The first track repeats the line “I’ve only got five fingers” over a screeching techno-mash and sounds like Squarepusher passed out on his sequencer and it continued to record. ‘Paradise Garage’ and ‘Star Time’ offer more ear-splitting detritus, best avoided unless tripping.