Straight and impact A's.

Animal Collective.

If one was really bored one day, it could be interesting to do some research into whether or not the alphabetical position of an artist affects the amount of times the artist is listened to. I mean, you naturally browse through the middle letters more often than you do A or Z. The point of all this is that all has been a bit quiet recently, I'm still waiting for my new records, and that has given me an opportunity to dig into the outer reaches of my library. Interestingly enough, a few artists beginning with the letter A have emerged for me through the past few weeks.


I have always been a bit of an Animal Collective skeptic, even when Pitchfork put their newest album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, atop their top 50 list of 2010. I have to admit, my initial troubles digesting Merriweather Post Pavilion's ornate psychedelia has led me to never sniff out any of the band's, sorry, the collective's, much acclaimed earlier stuff, nor did I check out much of Avey Tare's solo album Down There, which was big talk last fall.


In fact, listening to Merriweather Post Pavilion has often felt like a dreadfully tedious ordeal. Until, one day, it wasn't. Alongside obvious staples and long-lasting favorites 'My Girls' and the closing 'Brother Sport', suddenly the other tracks crept out of their acid-flooded hideout to reveal their true beauty. A tune like 'Taste', or the vulgar but powerfully insistent 'Summertime Clothes'. Or even the opener, 'In The Flowers', which I had almost forgot existed, but which is so vivid and almost as epic as it's successor track. And 'Bluish', which is just pure beauty. I guess this is just further proof that there is often more to an album that what initially meets the ear, and a year and a half down the road, Merriweather Post Pavilion finally leaps out of the 'bust'-category on my CD-shelf! So, when was Panda Bear's solo album due again?


The other impact A is for Agnes Obel, whose debut album, Philharmonics, I initially bashed when it came out this winter. It turns out, as with many other things, time will serve justice. I don't want to identify any particular key tracks, because this album is all about the sedateness and tranquility it inflicts on its listener. Especially her well-timed instrumental interludes work really well, and I realized while listening to this on the train home on Sunday, that this is really a stately album.


It's all about the last laugh, I guess...