One of my current favorite bands is Animal Collective–particularly their albums Merriweather Post Pavilion and Strawberry Jam. Both albums feature mind-altering experiments, sound play, and samples obscured or manipulated to the point where they didn’t need to have them cleared. The band’s biggest asset has always blending pure experimental insanity with melody.
Most reviews I write compare the reviewed artists to other more popular artists, and this one is no exception. The opening track of Liam Beaudoin’s album is the brief-yet-effective “The Formula of Happiness,” which I can’t really compare to anything directly, however. It seems like something that would open a sample-based hip hop album or a vaporwave album from Nmesh or Vektroid. Even with a Google search and a look at the description of the album, I could not ascertain the sample used.
Following the intro, “No Blue World” is a proggy song with multiple sections, moving from slow folk, to a “Piña Colada Song” groove, onto tempos that could be found in a hardcore punk song. Most musical artists dabble in fewer styles than that lone song encompasses. With “And Sometimes” the variety of sounds woven into the fabric of this album exponentially increases–worldbeat rhythms, a repetitive fuzzy/funky bass, screaming, and passionate vocals (including screams). “Duck & Cover” dabbles in soft 8-bit folk-tronica, with samples and sound effects re-appearing from the intro track, and the interlude track preceding, all alongside a poly-rhythmicly inclined drum machine beat.
While some songs on this album can work on their own, a formidable chunk of them make more sense in the context of the album. “Porch Lemon” is so quiet that it might not be this album’s best choice for a lead single; in the background, during the silence, crickets softly chirp. “Down Too Real” follows creating an ambient soundscape. Warped/chipmunked vocals kick in at the end of the track, all of it gliding melodically into the upbeat, passionate, and acoustic next track, “No Blue World”. “The Formula For Happiness (Blue Dye No.1 Added)” mirrors the lack of volume “Porch Lemon” offered earlier, and serves as the album’s outro.
Overall, this album is a dynamic journey involving bizarre-yet-pleasant soundscapes, loud and soft vocal dynamics, and several disparate musical genres which coalesce beautifully. Fans of left field pop, and experimental music in general, should invest in listening to Black & White: Now In Breathtaking Kinemacolor. Great job, Liam.
