Feels by Animal Collective

Animal Collective
Feels
2005
Experimental
FatCat

1. Did You See The Words
2. Grass
3. Flesh Canoe
4. The Purple Bottle
5. Bees
6. Banshee Beat
7. Daffy Duck
8. Loch Raven
9. Turn Into Something
(Also included is a 445x445 album cover .jpeg)

What's with all the changin' since the time I was aware
It's like the apple-eatin' people that we once were aren't there
Did they empty out their pockets and debase their younger faces
And you must be sure you're happy when you leave your summer places

"Grass"

I originally meant to make these first few posts very accessible for a causal music listener, but Animal Collective may not fit that bill. They definitely aren't for everyone, and it took a long time for Feels to grow on me. But now I think it's brilliant. Animal Collective make a very unique kind of music where they combine electronics, psychedelia, and African tribal music, complete with meaningless chanting and strange mouth-noises. Somehow, though, it works, and the finished product is danceable electronic pop music with catchy beats and melodies.

Animal Collective are very schizophrenic when it comes to what they sound like from song to song. In fact, their sound on Feels is split almost straight down the middle. Tracks 1, 2, 4, and 9 are almost excessively fast and upbeat pop songs, focusing on the tribal rhythm part of their sound. But the rest of the tracks are on the complete other end of the spectrum. They still have the tribal drums and the African-influenced vocals, for the most part, but they are almost excessively slow and steady, and are described by Animal Collective fans as their "soul" songs.

They feature twangy guitars playing slow chord progressions and sometimes no beat at all. This side of Animal Collective isn't my favorite, but some of the slow songs are incredible in their own right. Notably, the song "Banshee Beat" has a very natural progression, a nice crescendo and decrescendo, and a unforgettable hook that makes it stand out from the rest of the tracks as possibly the best track on the album.

My only gripes about Feels are about the 7th and 8th tracks, "Daffy Duck" and "Loch Raven." They're good songs, and there's not really anything wrong with them, but they are much too long and seem to meander on and on to the point of disinterest. I think they could have been combined into one shorter and much better song, and possibly leave enough space on the album for a new song. But, there's no use in complaining about something that's already been done.

Apart from this, Feels is an absolute gem. It took me about a week of listening to it to realize how great and original all the music on the album is. Like I said, it's not for everyone. But if you don't like it the first time, give it a few more spins and then decide what you think. It may grow on you more than you imagined it would.

Click here to download part 1 (51.81 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (58.05 MB)

Due to the length of the album, I couldn't put the whole thing in one big .zip file, so I had to split it up into 2 smaller ones. The download shouldn't take you much longer. After you get the files, just copy and paste them into one Feels folder to open in your music player.

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy