So, Haru Nemuri! If you want a very brief history on her musical career, check out my review for her first LP - but it has all led to this! ‘Shunka Ryougen’, her sophomore album, finally coming out more than four years after her first. Other than Animal Collective, this has been the album that I was most excited for this year, which is saying a lot, considering the sheer ... read more

Four years ago today, Haru Nemuri released her first full-length studio album: “Haru to Shura” (this is how I’ve most often seen it romanized). I only discovered this album in 2020, but I’ve been coming back to it a lot recently, as I look forward to the release of her second studio LP later this month. Especially recently, I’ve been struck by just how great much of this music is - to celebrate four years of Haru to Shura, I want to ... read more

edit: thank you all for 100 likes! <3

Growing up has been a recurring theme in Animal Collective’s music. From Spirit on, the band has created a handful of songs discussing the exciting and frightening aspects of this inevitable process - it’s terrifying to have to leave the comforts of being a child, but at the same time ... read more

AnCo’s 2016 album, Painting With, was a reaction to the growing popularity of reverby soundscapes in music; instead of creating ambient, experimental noises, the record focused on putting together more accessible, happier tunes. That album shows the band ‘settling down’ in a way - it’s a less ... read more

Before the review begins - this is just one version of this review. I edited this review for my page, and CC edited a different version for hers. Please check her review out; it’s quite different, and there’s some great moments not shown in mine. :)

Now I’ll let CC begin the review. It’s a little back and forth, with both of us sharing our thoughts on different parts. Hopefully you enjoy ... read more

“Their most accessible album to date”
~James Acaster, on Painting With by Animal Collective

There’s not much more to say, to be honest. Regarding Animal Collective’s 10th studio album, Painting With, I find myself agreeing with Mr. Acaster and @Knewnie; it’s accessible, it’s got some decent ... read more

The best way I can describe this album is just: it makes sense. Centipede Hz is an Animal Collective album that makes total sense, in terms of its sound, its release, its themes, and really everything about it. This is a bit weird because, in the case of AnCo, none of their previous albums have ever really done that. Each new album ... read more

Happy upcoming new year!!! Here’s an AnCo review :)

Well, here we are. This is the album that I’ve been thinking of ever since I began this discography dive. It’s an album that, from what I’ve seen, most people would consider to be Animal Collective’s ... read more

It’s time to continue the Animal Collective discography dive! Honestly, I stopped at a bit of a weird place, right in the middle of their amazing 4-album run; Feels left off with a very soft, dreamy sound, and Strawberry Jam is here to completely subvert any expectations you had of the band. I’ve been loving where ... read more

(Also thanks to @CyberCrasher_TV for the review request <3)

I know many people that consider this album to be Will Toledo’s masterpiece, and a cornerstone of modern indie rock… unfortunately, it did take me quite a while to actually listen to it in full. I also discovered the 2018 rerecording of the album beforehand, so I had to go into this album having heard a much more professional, in my opinion superior (sorry!) ... read more

Well, coming back to this review, it's.... not great. I'll keep it here because it does still accurately convey the aspects of this album that I love, but I would like to acknowledge the flaws of this review. Possibly because I was writing it for Halloween, I focused heavily on what I saw as the 'eerie' elements of the album, and in doing so, failed to correctly describe the music for what it is. This album is not just 'like a horror soundtrack', as I describe it, but it is a ... read more

For reference, I’d like to explain how I discovered Uchuu Nekoko, and why they’ve been such an important band to me. Back in mid-2020, there was some time - about 2 months or so - where all I really listened to was Japanese shoegaze. I’m not really sure what sparked it, but it was one of the greatest (musical) times of my life. This was a period where I was not really stressed, and I was able to ... read more

Credit where credit’s due, this is an incredibly impressive and cool project to create. I’ve wanted to try making music for so long but never gotten around to it, and here I see “Gel.” putting together a near half-an-hour project of his own, very unique music. Music made by AOTY users is a fun category to look through, because you’re able to know what kinds of music they enjoy, what artists have influenced their projects, ... read more

Feels is the second of what I see as the “big four” of AnCo’s discography; the four albums that would lead to them being seen as one of the 2000s greatest pop artists. It is also, strangely enough, the most overlooked of these four, at least in my experience. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sung Tongs and the albums following this one, but ... read more

Happy 7th birthday to Worlds, Porter Robinson’s debut studio album!!! In celebration, and to apologize for taking around 6 and a half years to discover it, I’ve gathered my thoughts on what makes this strange electronic album work so well.

I’ll admit; I was not at all active in the EDM or even the general music scene during the years of Porter Robinson’s rise to prominence. That said, just a brief comparison of the music made ... read more

Uchuu Nekoko, or Universe Nekoko, or 宇宙ネコ子, or Universe Kitten(?) is a band that I happened upon early last year while binging miscellaneous Japanese shoegaze on spotify. The beautiful album art (drawn by Tomoko Oshima) alongside the ... read more

“Sung Tongs are tongs about returning to an old house, doing nothing with friends, or making sound with bones.”

Sung Tongs is the first Animal Collective record since Spirit They’re Gone to only feature the ‘original’ two members; that is, only Avey Tare and Panda Bear make an appearance on this record. As an ... read more

This review may be a bit shorter than the others, mostly because I don’t really have much to say about this album. Ark is a strange moment in Animal Collective’s discography, and one that is mostly overlooked by listeners, often in favor of the albums succeeding it. If I’m being completely honest, every time I’ve come back to relisten, ... read more

I’m back, and (finally) continuing my amazing Animal Collective adventure! When we last left off, AnCo had focused on the abrasive and experimental parts of their sound in Danse Manatee, an album that, while occasionally beautiful, was overall inconsistent and somewhat boring. So where does Campfire Songs go from this? ... read more