Thank you. I was trying to better than great (twice), but its fucking cold.

Jesus, this is pretty great. Drums sound great.

I didn’t dislike her first album, its just never inspired more than a few listens for me. Excited for this to come out now.

Opened with In The Flowers then Leaf House.

Played most of MPP (except Bluish, Also Frightened, Taste and No More Runnin). Last three songs were Fireworks>My Girls>Brothersport.

Encore was Banshee Beat and Slippi.

And lord knows that indie rock should take its cues from what you (and particularly your family and friends) think.

WOW– truly one of the worst reviews I’ve read in a while. Why would they let this chump write the review on such an anticipated record?

4 obnoxious paragraphs and shout-outs to Pink, Justin Timberlake and Dan Deacon before there is a SINGLE WORD about the record itself.

Paste isn’t great, but this is a new low.

You’re right. A lot of us have also bought tickets to see them in NYC twice later this month, and will be picking up the vinyl at Other Music tomorrow.

If you are going to whine, at least make it about something useful or interesting.

Besides, Panda doesn’t need that much– I mean, how much can four walls and adobe slats cost?

Actually agree with you here– as much as I love talking about music, I’d rather know nothing going in when it’s a huge record like this.

That said, now that we’ve all heard it– does anyone here have anything to say other than:

1. “This is the greatest album ever”
2. “How can you call this the best album of 2009 already???”
3. “Ugh, why the hype– nothing will ever top the European pre-release import of Campfire Songs”

Believe it or not, I can appreciate it and still find it underwhelming.

I think it’s a bit of a plateau, not an interesting leap forward as the last two LPs have been– plus, personally I find that his continued use of overly-complicated words is becoming a git grating… this album has its moments, but it’s still an average album from an above-average artist.

Agreed– Noble Beast is something of a letdown (it has the worst of both Armchair’s grandiosity and Eggs’ preciousness).

But the ambient classical pieces on Useless Creatures are really interesting…

I think this makes Strawberry Jam seem like an awkward transitional album.

MPP is more along the lines of “Feels,” a coherant/consistant trip through its own little world. The tracklist/pacing is spot on– from the moment that In The Flowers kicks in with an explosion that blows your face into a smile, to the choice of Brothersport to remind us that this really is the first AC record

While it’s obviously a bit early to really tell, this may be their best, most developed record by a fair margin. You can make an argument that Sung Tongs is more refreshing or that the Peacebone/RevGreen/Fireworks trio makes Strawberry Jam untouchable– but they’ve been building to this here baby for the last three records.

The first five tracks are monsters in their own way. My Girls is a beautiful song with a simple premise– and jesus, the “whooo!”s when the drums kick in during the chorus are fantastic. Perfect example of what can happen when Panda lets Avey play with his tracks.

Summertime Clothes has the same manic, yet lumbering vibe that made Peacebone so fun (even if they sound a bit similar). And Daily Routine carries that jarring, piercing sped-up synth on its back through the entire song– and that’s before you realize that it’s supposed to be an alarm clock.

Blueish and Guys Eyes provide a great, needed mid-album sink into swampy layered soundscapes. While their equivilant tracks on old albums are sometimes throwaways, these are dense and lovely. Can we get these guys and Dave Sitek in a room together?

Taste and No More Runnin- fine, but I can do without. But that’s what great about MPP– even the album’s relative low-lights have their moments. Take the even, slow, lazy exaultation of No More Runnin– kind of like a space-y B-side from the back half of The Joshua Tree.

I like this album a lot, more so each of the last few times I have heard it. It’s not going to change the future of music– or even the minds of many who don’t already understand the reasons why Animal Collective is making really stellar music.

But it’s certainly everything most AC fans could have hoped for.

I agree– decent, but fairly light (particularly compared to 2007).

The fact that there is so much consensus around Deerhunter, Fleet Foxes, TVOTR etc is largely due to the fact that there weren’t a lot of other records people were willing to stick their neck out for.

To be honest, I can’t find that much that’s terribly off about this. They always create a list that you can’t COMPLETELY dismiss, unlike some of the others that came out earlier in the month.

Should have been higher:
-Dodos
-WHY?
-Women
-The Walkmen

Should have been lower:
-M83
-Titus Andronicus
-Hold Steady

Missing, but should be on any top 70 list:
-Wolf Parade
-The Black Keys
-Man Man
-Blitzen Trapper