Animal Collective

I went to see Animal Collective at the Art School last night and could not have been more satisfied musically - bringing Beach Boys-like pop harmonies, pulsing Wolfgang Voigt-like rhythms and ethereal folk together with the same experimental ethos as any krautrock pioneer. There was even a nod to Chicago house with the Frankie Knuckles sample on 'My Girls'.

Most encouraging of all was their refusal to play anything from their back catalogue, frustrating as this could be to any fan who's not heard any new material, I would defy anyone in the room who claimed not to have been blown away by their performance. This may also be down to the fact that the new album, Merriweather Post Pavilion is their most accessible to date - an album for girls as they claim.

I liked that their was little audience interaction and although effective, their light show was pretty simple. The main focus on the night was the music and despite it being a freezing night in January, I'm sure that almost everyone left with the same glowing summery feeling as I did afterwards.

Also, in this day and age - where the familiar glow of the Apple sign has became a representative for pre-programmed 'live' shows - I should note that there was not a laptop in sight on stage and both Avey Tare and Panda Bear were at various stages at home playing bass guitar, drums - as well as an abundance of sequencers and samplers.

I struggled to choose a track from the new album as it's so strong I could have picked anything from the sublime 'My Girls', catchy 'Guys Eyes', the awesome 'In The Flowers' or the infectious 'Brother Sport'. I opted for Summertime Clothes though - grab it here;

http://www.zshare.net/audio/541340692ffda0ca/