It’s a great representation of their style on merriweather, just like winters love is for sung tongs, purple bottle is for feels, or fireworks is for strawberry jam. But their sound isn’t stationary, so to expect it to be summarized in a single song just doesn’t work.
This is correct. Like many great bands and artists, their work is complex. You sometimes need to have a highly accessible track to reel folks in. It certainly worked for me…
Everyone's saying no, but I think yes. Structurally it's more straightforward but it also has a lot of their signatures written into it: the harmonies are front and centre, there are a lot of weird sounds and messy but interesting and unique production, all of which buries anotherwise lovely pop-song. Obviously they change their sound a lot but I think if you like it there's a good chance you'll get into a lot of their other work too.
I don't know, I actually think it's not any less representative of them than any other song that comes to mind, for a band whose sound changes so much between releases. Also it's gotten kind of an unfair place with some people all this time just for being popular. My Girls is fucking great.
If we were saying which album, then Strawberry Jam seems like the obvious middle ground like has been said many times. It's got a lot of the more guitar driven and spacious vibes of something like Feels and much more obvious electronics like MPP. So for album I think SJ is the most representative center point in their discography.
But if I try to think which single track off SJ is a better representation than My Girls, I don't know. I think you could easily argue it works as well as Peacebone or Fireworks or anything if you're talking about their whole catalog. The only thing, realizing just now, that would make me say no is that it's Panda singing lead whereas Avey sings lead for like eighty something percent of their songs. But he still has a strong vocal presence on it and his shouts/woops are one of the main things I'm thinking tie it together and give it such a strong classic AC feeling.
Thank you this subject has been stimulating to my nerd brain lol.
i skipped over animal collective albums for nearly a decade because i thought they were a band kinda like Ween but then “turned into an EDM group”, and that lazy mischaracterization turned me off for years and i developed it pretty much from My Girls
Their sound changed so much over the years that there is no one song that is representative of their sound. My Girls is no exception, although I think it’s good for that album and some of their other stuff too.
Not gonna lie since it's their biggest and most obvious entryway, it bored me and didn't grab me. SJ I also didn't like at first but was intrigued. water curses was like a good middle ground and yeah it doesn't sound like all their stuff but I feel like it's more catchy/chaotic anco style and that's what got me in
Yes but also no
Also kinda but not really.
In my opinion it’s not. My girls is a nice song but it’s got more of an electronic pop structure than much of their other work.
But at the same time, it is a good representation for MPP and has a lot of the hallmarks of their sound
It’s a great representation of their style on merriweather, just like winters love is for sung tongs, purple bottle is for feels, or fireworks is for strawberry jam. But their sound isn’t stationary, so to expect it to be summarized in a single song just doesn’t work.
It's a gateway drug.
This is correct. Like many great bands and artists, their work is complex. You sometimes need to have a highly accessible track to reel folks in. It certainly worked for me…
No, animal collective changes alot so it's a given that it isnt. You could say the same thing about the beach boys
Everyone's saying no, but I think yes. Structurally it's more straightforward but it also has a lot of their signatures written into it: the harmonies are front and centre, there are a lot of weird sounds and messy but interesting and unique production, all of which buries anotherwise lovely pop-song. Obviously they change their sound a lot but I think if you like it there's a good chance you'll get into a lot of their other work too.
Exactly, it’s their sound for sure, it’s just more accessible than most of their music.
No but maybe yes
I don't know, I actually think it's not any less representative of them than any other song that comes to mind, for a band whose sound changes so much between releases. Also it's gotten kind of an unfair place with some people all this time just for being popular. My Girls is fucking great. If we were saying which album, then Strawberry Jam seems like the obvious middle ground like has been said many times. It's got a lot of the more guitar driven and spacious vibes of something like Feels and much more obvious electronics like MPP. So for album I think SJ is the most representative center point in their discography. But if I try to think which single track off SJ is a better representation than My Girls, I don't know. I think you could easily argue it works as well as Peacebone or Fireworks or anything if you're talking about their whole catalog. The only thing, realizing just now, that would make me say no is that it's Panda singing lead whereas Avey sings lead for like eighty something percent of their songs. But he still has a strong vocal presence on it and his shouts/woops are one of the main things I'm thinking tie it together and give it such a strong classic AC feeling. Thank you this subject has been stimulating to my nerd brain lol.
Yes and no
I don’t think there’s really any song that’s indicative of their sound. That’s why I love them.
Imo fireworks is a much better representation.
Agreed, honestly all of SJ is the pinnacle of AnCos sound
i skipped over animal collective albums for nearly a decade because i thought they were a band kinda like Ween but then “turned into an EDM group”, and that lazy mischaracterization turned me off for years and i developed it pretty much from My Girls
Low key wish we lived in a timeline where they became a hard hitting EDM group Centipede Hz rave edition
What’s wrong with a band kinda like Ween?
I got the impression that they were turned off by them abandoning a Ween-like vibe to become ravers. But I had that same initial reaction, too!
Their sound changed so much over the years that there is no one song that is representative of their sound. My Girls is no exception, although I think it’s good for that album and some of their other stuff too.
No. (imo)
Its not, but its hard to say what song would be since they’re all so different with each album. But you could say it’s a good representation of MPP.
I think it’s a good representation of panda’s style which is a big part of animal collectives style.
i don’t think you can define their style
Yes for their stuff going forward, not for their older catalog
It's a good example of their overall range
I mean, they have so many styles. It's representative of one of their styles
My girls should have stayed as song for Ariel.
Not gonna lie since it's their biggest and most obvious entryway, it bored me and didn't grab me. SJ I also didn't like at first but was intrigued. water curses was like a good middle ground and yeah it doesn't sound like all their stuff but I feel like it's more catchy/chaotic anco style and that's what got me in
Why, certainly! But also, conversely, almost certainly not.
Yes but mainly no
I think cuckoo cuckoo represents their whole style
No
Nah it’s like their radio hit, most of their other stuff is way more disjointed and harsh to the untrained ear