Animal Collective - Gnip Gnop / Hounds Of Bairro (Album Review)

 

Animal Collective - Gnip Gnop / Hounds Of Bairro 

(2016)


My copy: 2016 press on 7” vinyl by Domino. 


Fans who pre-ordered Painting With were also given this 7” that included two additional songs that didn’t quite make the cut on the album proper. These two tracks boast similar shortcomings to the other material on Painting With and even feel less memorable than some of the worst songs on the final release. 

“Gnip Gnop” is a cutesy futuristic Beach Boys impression that starts out utterly annoying and evolves to only somewhat interesting. The core vocal melody, squeaky clean production and background singing make this more fit for a children’s toy commercial than standard consumption. Still, it is Animal Collective, so there are a handful of clever rhythmic tricks and neat background noises that attempt to ground the effort. The final chorus sees the layering at its fullest, and almost turns the song catchy. 

Despite a somewhat interesting progression, “Hounds Of Bairro” feels totally phoned in; like the prototypical Painting With track, complete with the shoehorned vocal hocketing. The song truthfully is neither offensively boring or encapsulating, rather it feels like an honest attempt at doing something different that simply fell flat. 

There are major fans of this era of Animal Collective who appreciate the bouncier, dance oriented qualities and the tighter, poppy vocal harmonies. While I respect these sentiments and will concede that the Painting With songs are leagues more fun in a live environment, sitting down and listening to them serves only to mildly irritate me. Perhaps I’m too much of a curmudgeon for this blip in their history.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Makes an Album Great

Image
            Great albums should leave lasting impressions, not only on those who listen as non-musicians, but also on the realm of music these albums occupy. In other words, a musical project should seek to leave some distinct mark on it's genre, to lay claim to some form of unique personality; this can often come in many forms, ranging from broad sound choices to subtle production techniques. This method for evaluating music seeks to make complacency the enemy, and forward movement the desired goal. This is not to say that all derivative albums are necessarily bad, as of course, outliers will always exist. Rather, the goal of an artist should, intrinsically, be to leave some reflection of their own condition, regardless of how relatable those emotions may or may not be. In music, this can be achieved in multiple ways, however I will focus on three aspects that I find particularly important when listening to music.      When co...
Read more

Oneohtrix Point Never - Again (Album Review)

Image
  Oneohtrix Point Never - Again (2023) My copy: 2023 limited press on orange transparent vinyl by Warp Records. Having built a strong reputation across a multitude of electronic projects, Daniel Lopatin now cashes in on his modern influence to compile what is likely his most ambitious project yet. Spanning over an hour, Again picks up where 2017’s Garden Of Delete left off, for better and for worse. Even with lush string arrangements and big-name features, Lopatin is unable to prevent Again from falling victim to some serious bloat. Anxiety immediately unravels in the orchestral “Elseware” though this introductory track quickly straightens out into a beguiling arrangement that is unlike any “typical” Oneohtrix track. The ritual “Again” then dives headfirst into Lopatin’s usual world of chittering robots and droning vocal mimicry. Things begin more explorative - descending into the depths of some synthesized hell before fading and restarting. Acoustic flourishes fester alongside...
Read more

Part Chimp - I Am Come (Album Review)

Image
  Part Chimp - I Am Come (2005) My copy: 2005 press by Rock Action Records As the millennium turned, rock music trends began to shift. In the U.S. a band called Lightning Bolt were establishing themselves as forerunners of modern noise-rock by pushing the music in increasingly weird directions. Across the pond, Mclusky were fighting the good fight with the 2002 Albini-produced Do Dallas, that wove dry, intelligent humor in between bursts of electrifying instrumental poundings. But over in London, another set of noise-crazed rockers got their start around the same time.  Part Chimp’s humor is a touch more on the nose; see album title Chart Pimp, or song title “Hitler and Jews” from the same 2002 debut. But directness is just where a band calling themselves “Part Chimp” excels. As rock began softening and going the way of the Strokes real quick, Chart Pimp offered a bastion of sludge-y rock ferocity that mostly suffered from being less able to fully capture the sheer volume ...
Read more