Animal Collective

There aren't many groups like Animal Collective. The only bands that spring to mind are the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. As with both of them heavy weights, Animal Collective is a profoundly avant-garde project that just so happens to make some of the most hummable jammers of the 21st century. They drawn inspiration from an absurd number of influences, including but not limited to Brit pop, experimental noise, vintage psychedelia, minimal techno, industrial, golden oldies, post-hardcore, dub and world music. Far more important, however, is how Animal Collective has synthesized all this good stuff into a phantasmagoric brand of tribal pop that's not at all pretentious or overly cerebral. In fact, it shimmers with a uranium-enriched sincerity best understood by nervous teens all strung-out on first loves, energy drinks and hormones. Of course, this is an aesthetic that's taken the band years to develop. Most ears will find early albums like Here Comes the Indian and the underrated Danse Manatee too extreme in their sonic freakery, but more recent works -- Feels, Strawberry Jam, Merriweather Post Pavilion -- will surely blow away those craving impeccably well-crafted indie rock.