Check out the moments from 3:20 to 3:35. You be the judge.

1. In the Flowers 9.5/10

Shimmering synth lines weave around the vocals on this Syd Barrett-esque track. It follows an unpredictable pace early on, but soon follows a fairly straight progression with some haunting string sounds and the lyrics “to hold you in time”. This is really a beautiful song and a wonderful way to start the record – an ode to the art rock started by Syd Barrett and The Velvet underground, but also moving it forward in an interesting way.

2. My Girls 6.5/10

I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls

….Beach Boys influences all over the place, although you can hear the heavy use of auto-tune which cheapens the experience. After the computer-assisted “harmony” intro, a bouncing bass kicks in with some snappy hand claps. The lyrics come off as heartbreakingly sincere, but the song is trapped in the repetitive main arpeggio, never really being allowed to grow or breathe. These adobe walls are closing in, and we begin to see the first signs of a really creative band starting to hit the ceiling in terms of what they are able to do musically due to their lack of instrumental ability.

3. Also Frightened 5/10

If you could record “going through the motions”, this is what it must sound like. The pretty build up with the question “are you also frightened” pcks up the excitement level a bit. Some interesting effects pepper the song, but the basic foundation is too weak.

4. Summertime Clothes 8/10

The intro greets us with a large, fat synth sound synched with some sine bass, and then a helter skelter arpeggio. Unfortunately, these elements dominate the song, rarely letting it grow and breathe. The imagery of the song is quite pleasant, making one pine for the warmer seasons. Overall it’s a pleasing pop song but also too repetitive. Again we see the limitations Animal Collective impose on themselves by being unable to branch out from Loop Land. Still, they manage to create an interesting piece despite those limitations.

5. Daily Routine 5/10

At this point, Merriweather Post Pavilion begins to kind of drift into itself, getting too samey sounding. This song is largely forgettable, buried in a ho-hum world of overly reverb affected vocals and sampled bass.

6. Bluish 9/10

A very familiar sounding melody opens the track. It carries a warm and inviting ambience. The clearly auto-tune affected vocals twist and turn up into the sky, then zoom out of sight. A vintage sounding keyboard plucks alongside a rolling bass, creating a flourishing psychedelic landscape that the psych pioneers would be proud of.

back to the time I touched your hand

7. Guys Eyes 4/10

Way too much Beach Boys, too repetitive, plodding and uninteresting. We hear the same loop over and over and over again. This is another eloquent example of a very creative band hitting their head on the ceiling due to their lack of being able to express themselves by learning an instrument and interacting live with it as a band, thus creating interesting and dynamic ideas that don’t rely on Ableton Live. A song that was better left off the album.

8. Taste 8.5/10

Do you appreciate the subtleties of taste buds?

A tasty flute fluctuates throughout the beginning of the song, placated by buzzy, watery synth tones. The chorus is beautiful. This is a big, plodding, psychedelic song — the sound of big bright flowers growing before your eyes and bluebirds flying through the sky, leaving trails across the horizon.

9. Lion In a Coma 5/10

A didgeridoo sound is looped throughout the track, synched up with some behind the scenes bass to create a thumpy, organic elixor. A Genesis synth riff hovers right above this mix. Unfortunately the vocals aren’t up to par on this track, and again it sounds like Animal Collective are coming up short because they simply aren’t able to proceed due to various limitations.While the sounds are quite interesting, overall the song as a whole does not stand up.

10. No More Runnin’ 8.5/10

A beautiful sleepy sounding track in the vein of Pink Floyd and Secret Machines. Some excellent keyboard work (is it a sample?) just dangles on the edge of the tune, keeping the dreamy melody and vocals from running too far outside the lines. This song would have received higher marks, but the repetitive nature hurts it. This seems to be the case for many of the songs on Merriweather Post Pavilion.

11. Brothersport 6/10

I know it sucks your daddy’s dumb

Ok, you can stop repeating the same exact lyrics now. In many circles, prog rock is considered self indulgent. This song, and much of this album falls right into that category. There’s not much difference between the vocal histrionics/self indulgent endless loops of Animal Collective and Rick Wakeman yanking that synth solo for the 100th time. In fact, there’s no difference. We get that on Brothersport, and in spades. Now is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. It seems that over the past several years, the musical discussion has been dominated by a monoculture of urban white male blog operators who endlessly praise a very, very narrow scope of music. Sadly, the trend now is to praise albums that contain a couple very good tracks, with the rest of the tracks being moody filler that somehow matches the ambience of the few good songs on the album. This is defined as “cohesive” by these critics, and therefore the albums are endlessly praised by this monoculture even though they lack a full array of high quality songs. Is it a sign of the times? Instead of taking the time and putting the best ideas on one album, are some of these indie bands consciously taking a few good songs and building this blog-critic-proof wallpaper around those songs?

In the end, Merriweather Post Pavilion is one of those albums. It contains a couple brilliant tracks, but is surrounded not by a compliment of “classics” but instead the moody wallpaper creating a sense of cohesiveness that indie blog critics lap up. That’s not to say that mood is not important – it’s essential. But the truly great albums are able to paint a mood *and* fill an album with absolute classics. Animal Collective may be that band one day. But in the meantime, like all top level art rock acts, they need to evolve (especially in terms of growing out of the loop coffin they have found themselves trapped in). At this point, this highly creative band is treading water.

Response Keywords after hearing this album:

Repetitive, psychedelic, dreamy, samey, pretty, loops, mechanical, obstructed

Album Total 6.8/10

Cardinology is Ryan Adams 11th solo release in 8 years.

1. Born Into a Light 5/10

A syrupy intro that sounds not unlike something from a Christian pop album. With lyrics like we were born into the light, and a rather generic arrangement, it makes you wonder.

2. Go Easy 4/10

“Next week, on a very special Blossom…….”

3. Fix It 3/10

Adams introduces a semi-funky/trippy sound into this one, but it’s the kind of sound that people who aren’t really trippy would come up with. This sound swaps with a super-lite standard guitar pattern that you find in many Christian pop acts.

4. Magick 0/10

You’re like a rain cloud if it rained mushroom clouds

Perhaps the worst song of 2008. Maybe even beating out “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock. We can’t forget “Highly Suspicious” by My Morning Jacket either.

5. Cobwebs 5/10

If I fall will you catch me

Another disappointing track that sounds like it belongs at a Christian Rock Youth concert. Adams seems to have lost any kind of edge that he had while making the Whiskeytown albums.

6. Let Us Down Easy 7/10

A fairly decent track in which Adam’s seems somewhat sincere. Adam’s vocals go into some interesting places, working with a melody that’s worth listening to. Some nice guitar work as well.

7. Crossed Out Name 6/10

I feel like a page with a crossed out name
Ryan Adams channeling the Killers? It works a bit.

8. Natural Ghost 3/10
The arrangements and playing are interesting, but the lyrics and forced melodrama are bottom of the barrel.

You make me feel like I’m not here
I am, I am more than you think I am

The *idea* of being a “natural ghost” in a relationship is interesting, but like Indian Jones and the Crystal Skull, the execution is poor.

9. Sink Ships 2/10

The album takes another turn into easy listening lite. All too familiar chord changes. The message is powerful, but is contradicted by the weak music.

10. Evergreen 8/10

Evergreen, evergreen my love

A sweet number with ghostly steel guitar work, some intricate guitar picking and hushed vocals. It’s a strange tune in a way, but it works.

11. Like Yesterday 7/10

A melancholic piece, but with a quasi-triumphant guitar solo which infers the writer has moved on from those memories. It’s short, but effective.

12. Stop 8/10

A heartbreaking tune in which Adams ditches the forced melodrama and is completely believable. Unfortunately the second half goes off track, but that’s forgivable when the material is believable. If Adams would wait a few years and include songs like “Evergreen” and “Stop”, along with standout tracks from his other rushed releases, he could put together a nice record.

Response Keywords after hearing this album:

Easy listening, forced, melancholic

Album Total 4.8/10