The last two years were productive for Animal Collective, especially 2022, which saw them delivering their first album in 6 years and conducting the scores and soundtracks to films Crestone and The Inspection, respectively. I haven’t dug my nails into their work for The Inspection outside of its lead single and the album preceding it (Time Skiffs), which carried some parallels. I was a fan of Time Skiffs, even if it was middle-of-the-pack for Animal Collective; that changes on Isn’t It Now?; the music is slightly more tender and sonically introspective through vocal and written execution compared to the more poppy Time Skiffs. It’s an interesting switch that has me reeled back each time to let it loop and flow continuously; you’re almost stuck waiting for the pin to drop and give you something to push you away, and in a way, these side trips to livelier poppy notes can do that as they usually run shorter than expected. What I’ve always loved about the band is their emphasis on constructing these intricately fantastic long songs – Isn’t It Now? gives us that and more with some monster songs that make you slightly disappointed as it drops off after “Defeat,” slightly.
Isn’t It Now? opens with the remarkable “Soul Capturer,” which references William Tell, a lore about mountain climber and marksman known for the murder and rebellion against Albrecht Gessler, then ruler of Switzerland in the 1300s. It uses Soul Capturer to define one’s mental hell, eating away at them with these realizations that go both ways, as if one feels like their agency is becoming lost while facing adversity through power dynamics. They are giving us music that has us feeling connected to our emotions via distinct ways that offer some frivolity toward hope as this sense of light is inevitable, or could get seen as one’s life finding fulfillment, or the sea is the trip through a type of purgatory – or rather a form of escapism. It’s a beautiful aspect that derives from music, especially as you get to break down what is getting relayed effervescently, like the perseverance notions in “Broke Zodiac” or conformity and alienation in “All The Clubs Are Broken,” where the repetitive verses add to the mundane aspect of everyday life, working a 9 to 5, without much liberty. As Animal Collective guides you through the intricacies of tracks, even with 60s Pop nostalgia influencing “Stride Rite,” not everything can fill the slightly hollow.
Isn’t It Now? delivers balanced musical sensitivities between orchestrations without walking down the road mostly traveled on occasion. Much of it comes in the first half, where the quality is at an all-time peak; it gives the writing and vocals the free range to work around their creative avenues. It becomes a resounding comfort as you sit back, unwind, and let them paint these beautiful paintings within the moment. Some of it is oblique and interpersonal with its allusions to certain moods and feelings, and others are modestly more direct, like “Magicians In Baltimore,” where they focus on actualizing this sense of home is where the heart is. In it – like “Soul Catcher” – the creativity flows through with these unique conceptions and reference points to bridge meaning. With “Magicians In Baltimore,” the music speaks about how Baltimore remains deadlocked within someone’s heart despite the different worlds around them. It is this faint memory that feels latched to home, and depending on its reading, you can sense the duality of character where one needs to leave and grow but still has this inkling for home, where they feel the solace.
Much of the music carries exuberant depth; that isn’t a detriment towards the music as Isn’t It Now? gets constructed using past songs that were recorded and eventually played live since 2020/21; they find a way to make these connect from the vault and polish them further. There is an equilibrium between the slower, contemplative numbers and the more fluid and influenced jangle-pop and psychedelic-pop constructions, where sometimes you find yourself vibing and grooving quietly instead of living within the existential dread deriving from loss and the struggle to amplify one’s strength at the face of adversity. As much as the sound is a dominating factor here, it’s the themes connecting and laying out something that makes you feel heard. Though I love what gets written, the production isn’t as great; the final song in the tracklist, “Kings Walk,” misses comparatively, but if you’re not a front-to-back purist, you can easily skip it.
Amongst the many tracks, “Defeat” is a tremendous stoppage that takes you through a harrowing journey of beautiful minimalism and clean instrumental switches as the song gets told in two parts; the first relays some hope amongst the decaying memories around them of past friends or family, loved ones, etc.; the second has more dread in the voice – Panda Bear relays this narrative of a one-way relationship, whether post-mortem or through a separation of means, like independence and neglect. It’s a remarkable song that the synths dictate via guidance from nuanced emotions within the verses and performances. Additionally, while listening to the album front to back, I kept hearing the influence of 60s Psychedelic Pop, specifically the resounding studio presence of the strings, almost coming off operatically. It’s beautifully translucent and offers a clean palette of songs that take some chances with elevating and working within infinite space. With songs like “Genie’s Open” and “Stride Rite,” you hear it as they play instruments and placements like the faint triangles in the former coming mid-song, continuously toying with it before delivering something livelier within the final two minutes or so. The latter equally builds it up slowly and hypnotizes you with the tambourine. I was left in awe.
I was more of a fan of this new album over Time Skiffs, and I hope my words show it. There is something about Isn’t It Now?, which made me latch to it quickly. It could be the nuanced pop influence from the 60s and more, like their interconnectivity as a band showing within the constructions. Give it a spin and let me know what you think about it, especially you Animal Collective fans, because as a fan myself, I’m ready to spin this during those cold nights in winter.
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