AVEY TARE
7s (Domino)
Few bands veer between sporadically brilliant and utterly infuriating with quite such carefree abandon as incorrigible maximalists Animal Collective. All too often, their music is a potentially delicious broth spoiled by too many cooks, each lobbing their own ingredients into the pot until the dish is so over-seasoned it’s practically inedible.
But any hopes that the fourth solo album from founder member Avey Tare aka David Portner might be different – less busy; more focused, svelte and streamlined; the realisation of a clarity of vision rather than a thick soupy fug of ideas – are largely dashed.
Sure, 7s’ kaleidoscopic pop boasts a characteristic sonic richness, and some arresting moments: the bright keys of Invisible Darlings; the conclusion of The Musical, a meditation on the restorative power of fashioning sounds and voice into song; the whole of the playful, fractured Neurons. But it also lapses into irritating self-indulgence on several occasions, its creator getting lost in his own head/world and forgetting to take the listener with him.
words BEN WOOLHEAD
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