Chris DeLine

Animal Collective are at such a stage in their career which its members can take liberties with its fans, this is no better reflected than with the band’s People EP. Its three studio tracks deliver a fully functional prog rock interpretation clouded with futuristic overtones all seemingly set in a time when it is a complete faux pas to make sense of your music. Dirty, lovable liberties.

The music doesn’t so much follow the pattern of Feels on a whole, though “Tikwid” wouldn’t seem out of place, as People teases something sonic throughout but evolves only as a harmonic tease. If it weren’t for that song it might seem as though People were attempting to stray further into abstract, which for a band like Animal Collective is like asking ‘How can Tom Cruise get any crazier?’ How much more experimental can they get? Possibly a collaboration with John Zorn? Richard D. James? Shifting its sound into the realm of industrial realism (the type which literally uses the kitchen sink to conceptualize its intent)? Whatever it is that People is leading up to might not develop as such a momentous artistic exploration, but it might not be as far off as the EP’s first blurry listen may suggest.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]