There are some who believe in the romantic notion that banging around long enough without rational constraint will eventually result in something brilliant. For certain purer devotees of the primitive, banging around without rational constraint is brilliant in and of itself. Feels (Fat Cat) has sorely disappointed the latter, or at least confused them enough to suggest that ANIMAL COLLECTIVE has grown more conventional or rock or song-oriented or some such craziness. True, the lyrics are now often discernible–theoretically maybe even explicable–but they make more sound than sense, as when “the bees the bees the bees the bees” suddenly tumbles into a memorably un-beelike growl. And yes, rather than gliding along on subtleties of timbre or texture, each track assumes a tangible shape–the astounding “Grass” is overstuffed with melodic lines, which repeat just often enough for you to mistake it for a pop song. But rather than impose a familiar structure on their clickety-clack percussion, undulating feedback swells, piano cascades, and singsong vocals, AC lets the songs tumble forward with the loose logic of a dream, making no distinctions between anticipatory build and climactic peak. The droney bits are still a snooze, but I figure all playful children deserve melancholy lullabies. –Keith Harris
