New Animal Collective EP

Animal Collective made a aggressive move this week by releasing a 28 minute EP called Fall Be Kind, in the same year that they put out their most successful album ever,

The EP's title is a play on "fall behind"- that phrase grandmas say when you turn the clocks back for daylight savings. Avey Tare was quoted in a Pitchfork interview saying that they typically like to put out albums according to the seasons and, though it came out in January, the last album was meant for a spring release. Don't worry Avey, I'm pretty sure people liked it so much they were still listening to "My Girls" on repeat this summer.

Fans who got hooked on AC with the super-accessible, almost poppy Merriweather Post Pavilion, may be disappointed by the EP. Where last year's EP Water Curses was a clear transition between the two full-length albums Strawberry Jam and MPP, Fall Be Kind has the ultra-mellow, airy feel of Panda Bear's solo album Person Pitch. Of course, that album was super successful too so it may not be an issue. While it is not going to make you yelp or jump up and down, Fall Be Kind is pretty, complete with the usual simple this-is-what-I'm-doing-and-feeling-and-thinking-lyrics sung through vocal harmonies so rich and smooth you could frost a cake with them.

Fun Fact: The second track, "What would I want? Sky" samples the Grateful Dead and maybe whale songs? Even with all the drugs he did, I doubt Jerry could have imagined such a repurposing of his work. Wikipedia says its the first ever liscensed Grateful Dead sample. It is Wikipedia, so take that as you like.

This Atlas Sound + Panda Bear collaboration is neat too.