547. Animal Collective - sung tongs

This album was such a breath of fresh air when i came out that I feel compelled to give it a high score, yet they also break one of my standard rules. They suck live. I saw them but opted to leave early and go to bed - bed seemed that much more appealing than the band. That's always a bad thing, no matter who you are with. BUT Animal Collective use some brilliant, simple techniques to make this a great album. Harmonizing, layering, strumming. It's fragmented, it's a stream of conciousness, it's sparse, it's disjointed and a perfect fit. If they were my students, and I was an art teacher, I'd give them a resounding A.

8.9 out of 10
Leaf House