Day 0983 - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion” (2009)

Animal Collective are nothing if not prolific.  Along with releasing either an album or EP for every year they’ve been in existence, the individual members have released a slew of solo albums between them.  Whether or not that’s a good thing obviously depends on your opinion of the quality of their output.

My limited experience of their work (from memory, this one, previous release “Strawberry Jam”, “Centipede Hz” and Avey Tare’s’ solo album “Down There”) leads me to believe it’s not a terrible thing.   I’m not a rabid fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve never heard anything that puts me off them either.   What I find with them is something similar to some other bands from that era: that I quite enjoy it on first listen but (a) I don't retain too much memory of the songs after the fact and (b) the initial enthusiasm vanishes on re-listens.

The band had briefly parted company with their guitarist so were writing songs based more around samples and keys.   Some comparisons are made to Flaming Lips, which I could kind of hear in that it's spacey, swirling, layered psychedelic pop.  “My Girls” and “No More Runnin’”  have kind of a Beach Boys vibe to them, both in the vocal harmonies, the production, and even the timbre of the lead vocal.  “Lion in a Coma” reeks of  India-influenced Beatles.  

Again, overall there were a lot of interesting sounds, and I'd be willing to check out their other albums that come 'into my orbit' but they're not a band that are on my mind much (cool album cover though).

 

Day 0773 - G.Love and the Special Sauce

G.Love and the Special Sauce "G.Love and the Special Sauce" (1994)

Interesting sound.  G.Love were a white hip-hop group, but made the wise move of not trying to fake it like they were 'legit gangsta'.  The group instead combine guitars, upright bass and drums to create a sound that would be more at home at the beach or the skate park than in the ghetto.

There are touches of jazz and blues backing the tracks about girls (Baby's Got Sauce), brews (Cold Beverage) and even a touch of conscious rap (This Ain't Living).   Wouldn't be out of home in your record collection somewhere between Sublime and the Fun Loving Criminals.

Day 0120 - Cheap Thrills

Big Brother and the Holding Company "Cheap Thrills" (1968) - got it

 

Big Brother and the Holding Company were an established, largely instrumental band when they got Janis Joplin on board.  She recorded two albums with them (this is the second) before spitting to get her solo career underway. 

It's hard to know whether this would be the timeless classic it is without Joplin's voice.  The band and the music are great.  Their version of 'Summertime' in particular is delicate and haunting, but Janis just lifts it further. Likewise, 'Ball and chain' is screaming otherworldly blues, but it just feels that bit wilder with Janis moving from a croon to a throat-bleeding wail over it.

As always with members of the 27 club, you have to wonder what Janis could have done, had she lived a longer life.