Isn't It Now? (2023)

Where other bands may start more accessible and gradually radicalize their sound, it seems experimental pop band Animal Collective have recently taken the opposite trajectory. For the third (fourth? fifth?) leg of their career we find Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin, and Geologist embracing traditional band arrangements and dynamics for a more relaxed and nostalgic ride. Isn't It Now? follows 2022's Time Skiffs and serves as the cool autumn wind to the latter's summery breeze. On the tunes the members are clearly pulling from their influences from late 60's psychedelia, 70's folk rock, and the 90's neo-psych movement; immediately heard on the peppy opener "Soul Capturer" with its chiming, noodly guitars and soaring group harmonies. It's a deliberate indulgence, one where you can tell how comfortable each member is playing on these cuts.

It's an energy that rubs off, Isn't It Now? may not be the most attention seeking Animal Collective record but it's certainly one of the easiest to sink into. Not that there aren't any experimental inklings, the band still brings their usual trickery. None more apparent than the 21 minute "Defeat" which seems to be a meditation on the group's career; peppered with snoring synthesizers and expressive vocals from Avey Tare and the gang. All performed at a glacial pace that truly captures the expansive feeling of the song. But alongside that there's the contentment to bring out a more standard track like "Stride Rite"; one of the most straightforward piano ballads of the group's discography and one of their best. Helmed by the quieter, more wistful Deakin, "Stride" is a big step for the composer and it's been a treat seeing him blossom as a songwriter in Animal Collective.

Isn't It Now? feels like a good end-cap to this period of the band, and in many ways serves as a sister record to Time Skiffs with a lot of the material being written and performed around those sessions. You can almost hear them winding down for a period of hibernation on the final track "King's Walk", a cut that sees the quartet harmonizing almost a cappella and singing about contemporary climate issues (which is always appreciated). And though I may not find this record as tightly written or stylistically consistent as Skiffs, the absorbing comfort of Isn't It Now? still makes it a distinguishable entry in a very distinguished discography.