Centipede Hz

Animal Collective are determined to overwhelm you. They do it with an unrelenting sound that mixes and matches genres with absurd speed and impeccable craft. Their music is a maze that is difficult to escape once you're submerged in the mix. "Applesauce" is simply insane, a manic panic that screams about fruit. "Wide Eyed" tightens up before loosening into a Magical Mystery Tour of psychedelic tones and elliptical drum circle dance grooves that are set up to trip anyone who dares to dance. Tempo shifts, key changes, ambient textures, pop rock tropes, hummable melodies and abstract concepts converge in unpredictable configurations. "New Town Burnout" is so dense and haunted that it's near impossible to suss out the influences, unless trampling orchestras can be considered an "influence." Though in the past, members wandered in and out of a project, all four contributors are on deck for this release. At times hypnotic ("Monkey Riches," "Amanita") and often jarring (take your pick), Centipede Hz may be the most challenging release of 2012.