Put The Baggage Down

Animal Collective “Walker”

Animal Collective’s Time Skiffs is a great example of a band circling back to their greatest strengths as musicians/songwriters after a long period of exploration in various configurations, but if you’re paying attention they’ve added a lot of new tricks and ways of playing together. The most obvious changes is that Deakin has grown considerably as a keyboard player and Panda Bear has evolved as a drummer, leading both towards grooves that nod towards R&B grooves without straying from the distinctive feel of Animal Collective. “Walker” combines the boyish harmonies of their most widely beloved music with a strutting groove that’s just on the edge of full funk, all in the service of ambiguous yet clearly reassuring lyrics. The result is bright and joyful, particularly when they accent it all with melodic mallet percussion that adds a little extra sparkle to the mix.

Buy it from Bandcamp.