More than three years after the release of “Centipede Hz” in 2012, Animal Collective gave the first taste of their upcoming tenth LP, “Painting With.” While the album won’t be released until Feb. 19, preview track “FloriDada” gives a strong sense of what’s to come.
Coming off the band’s creative peak which spanned 2005’s “Feels,” 2007’s “Strawberry Jam” and 2009’s “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” “Centipede Hz” had a much more crowded sound. While strong overall, the album is also the least accessible since 2003’s “Here Comes the Indian.” For a band that changes their sound from album to album, the big question of “Painting With” is what its style the tracks will follow.
The clearest immediate influence on “FloriDada” is the Beach Boys. While the harmonies of singers Avey Tare (also known as Dave Portner) and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) have always resembled the Beach Boys, “FloriDada” is the most overtly reminiscent of anything the legendary band has released. Where “Centipede Hz” has a hectic sound requiring multiple listens to digest, “FloriDada” follows a very traditional, even poppy song structure. The chorus, a “Barbara Ann”-esque “Flor, Flor, Flor, Flor, Florida. FloriDada, FloriDada,” is a bit sing-songy, but the harmonies of the verses are excellent.
Often one of the two singers takes the lead in Animal Collective’s other music, but “FloriDada” maintains a perfect balance between the two. After a few years of Panda Bear and Avey Tare working on solo side projects, it is refreshing to hear them back together. Also returning from the days of “Feels” and “Sung Tongs” are the natural, clicky drumbeats. Almost as a reaction to the band’s heavy use of modulation and distortion on their previous album — much as “Centipede Hz” can be seen as a reaction to the mainstream “Merriweather Post Pavilion” — “FloriDada” boasts a much cleaner, simpler sound.
The highlight of “FloriDada” is the bridge, introduced by a sample of the giggles from The Surfaris’ “Wipe Out” — as if the surf-rock influence wasn’t clear enough already. While it lasts only a couple seconds, it gives a nice breather before the song jumps back into its fast pace. Animal Collective has had great success with bouncy, uptempo songs in the past and “FloriDada” is no exception. It won’t be clear until February — or when the album inevitably leaks next month — just how deep the Beach Boys influence goes, but “FloriDada” is an excellent first impression.
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