Isn't It Now?

by Animal Collective

Overview

After a long stretch of output that could be meandering and abstract, Animal Collective returned to form on their 2022 effort Time Skiffs. That, their 11th studio album, recaptured the band's uniquely fractured balance of pop catchiness and experimentalism, and expanded on it with unexpected moments of danceability. Released relatively quickly afterwards, 12th album Isn't It Now? feels like a natural companion piece to Time Skiffs, with material written around the same time that continues the formula of organizing wild ideas and weird sounds within the boundaries of accessible, well-structured songwriting. Opening track "Soul Capturer" could almost represent a continuation of the more straightforward approach of Time Skiffs as it stacks hooky vocal melodies on layers of peppy acoustic guitars and pulsating yet organic percussion. Much like the best of Time Skiffs, the song immediately recalls elements of Animal Collective's past work without simply recreating it, in this case by building on the bright-eyed folk strangeness of 2004's Sung Tongs but bringing in the restraint and thoughtful pacing the band found in the ensuing years. "King's Walk" takes a similar backwards look, revisiting the Beach Boys-esque vocal harmonizing explored on earlier records (and in particular on Panda Bear's 2004 solo set Young Prayer) but arranging it with a newfound precession. A track like "Genie's Open" represents strides forward for a band defined by their ever-changing nature, made up of complex, winding changes that are dialed in and intentional. Isn't It Now?'s clarity is in part due to its defined production, courtesy of Russell Elevado, who before this worked on revered records by D'Angelo and the Roots. The funkiness the group started exploring on Time Skiffs benefits from Elevado's ear, especially on the slinky grooves of "Gem & I." Even with a tightened pop sound, Animal Collective still spends plenty of time traversing the ether. "Magicians from Baltimore" is moody and shambling, and droning centerpiece "Defeat" lingers for almost 22 minutes, taking its time in slowly unfurling its various synth textures, ambient vocal arrangements, and rhythmic segments. At 64 minutes long, these nine tracks make up Animal Collective's longest studio album, but the execution is less overwrought than some of their more concise but less reigned-in earlier work. Isn't It Now? carries over the inspiration and fire Animal Collective rekindled on Time Skiffs. It finds them reveling in a state of joyful curiosity, but exploring with a knowing control earned through years of getting to know themselves and their singular sound inside out. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	09/29/2023
Label:	Domino
UPC:	0887828052813
Rank:	38472

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Soul Capturer
2. Genie's Open
3. Broke Zodiac
4. Magicians from Baltimore
5. Defeat

Disc 2

6. Gem & I
7. Stride Rite
8. All the Clubs Are Broken
9. King's Walk

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Animal Collective   Primary Artist
Sara Schoenbeck   Bassoon
Samara Lubelski   Violin
Ben Chapoteau-Katz   Sax (Tenor)
Leila Bordreuil   Cello
Murmurations   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Russell Elevado   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Animal Collective   Composer,Producer
Rob Carmichael   Design
Heba Kadry   Mastering
Nolan Thies   Mixing Assistant
David Portner   Artwork
Josh Dibb   Composer,Lyricist
Todd Carder   Mixing Assistant
Alex Conroy   Mixing Assistant