Concert Review: Animal Collective at Roseland Theater, 3/5

For a band so often compared to the Beach Boys, Animal Collective can be tough on the casual listener.

Granted, Animal Collective has embraced vocal harmony like few other bands in the modern era. Frontmen Panda Bear and Avey Tare dish lyrics back and forth at an incredible pace, stepping over octaves like cracks in the sidewalk. But instead of sounding like a shimmering barbershop quartet, Animal Collective prefers the highly melodic yet strangely rant-like hyperactive vocals so many have tried to replicate in their nearly 20 years as a band.

The band has done more than its share in redrawing the boundaries of pop music, existing in that sliver of the Venn diagram that splits the accessible and the downright psychedelia. In many ways, Animal Collective is the perfect hallucinogenic trip, affording a completely new perspective without the extreme paranoia and panicky fear of death.

At the Roseland on March 5, the set was relatively mild in that regard, lasting a punctual 90-minutes and ending promptly at 10:45, just as the printed signage suggested. It could have been louder, the set could have been nuttier and the band could have bantered more. But that's nit-picking.

And while there was no face-painting to "Banshee Beat" (per Coachella 2006) or countless fans in animal costumes in attendance (per every festival appearance), Animal Collective offered plenty to enjoy. The most impressive trait of the set was how it functioned like a single organism, rarely falling silent, with the songs deftly blending together via careful knob-turning and percussion that would shuffle in and out of fuzzy solos and crystal-clear beats.

The band released Painting With a few weeks back and displayed it proudly at the Roseland. Panda Bear and Avey Tare flexed their complete vocal understanding of each other with the droned-out "The Burglars" and the jumpy, primal, hard-to-keep-up-with "Summing the Wretch." After teasing it for a stretch, the quartet finally fell into the highly rhythmic "Golden Gal," drawing huge applause. It's vintage Animal Collective—math-y in its layering but still very mich danceable.

After a brief break, the band returned for an oldie in "Bees," from 2005's outstanding Feels. From there, the band could have easily hit us with "My Girls" or some other tried-and-true fan favorite. Instead, it bet the house on what will almost surely be the band's next hit, "Floridada." Animal Collective maybe a little older, a little more reserved and perhaps in bed before midnight these days. But they still excite as a live act, and continue throwing grenade at pop music standardization.

All photos by Emily Joan Greene.

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