Zoo That?

Animal Collective have always been a band to name drop into a conversation about music to make your friends / fellow music lovers swoon with admiration. "Yeah, like, Feels is one of my favourite records of all time, the way the flange sounds is incredible. It just, like, totally, erm, speaks to me". The fact is, Animal Collective are a great bands and have moments on all of their albums that are properly amazing, but these moments are sometimes so fleeting that it can turn the listening process into a chore.

Their ninth album, however, is all up in my iPod right now and that's because they've stopped overloading every song and instead embraced the smidgen of pop nous that managed to wriggle free on some of their other work. Merriweather Post Pavilion is their most accomplished album to date and if you don't own it then you are a dullard.

This, right here, is one of the songs of 2009. Yes, I am well aware that it's only January.



If you stare at that image for too long it will become emblazoned on your retina.