With the widespread success of Merriweather Post Pavilion I wouldn’t be surprised if some Animal Collective fans thought that the disc was their first effort. This would be unfortunate for those coming late to the party as Animal Collective have been putting out their own brand of experimental pop music consistently over the past decade. While some of their material is admittedly challenging, the two albums the band released before beginning their heavy electronic experimentation (2004’s Sung Tongs and 2005’s Feels) contained moments of pure bliss and stand out as two of the best albums of the last 10 years. Both contain Animal Collective’s frantic songwriting and melodic yet disjointed instrumentation. Before they became enthralled in electronic flourishes (as on Strawberry Jam and Merriweather Post Pavilion) the band was a four piece featuring drums, guitars, bass and vocals and the frenzied songwriting is less glossy than with their recent electronic music, though it is blissfully scattered and showed a band that has always been more interested in leading the charge than following the trend. Songs like “Who Can Win a Rabbit?” from Sung Tongs and “Grass” from Feels find a wildly inventive band creating some of the best music of the 2000s, even before the current wave of attention.

Animal Collective “Who Could Win a Rabbit?” (mp3)
Animal Collective “Grass” (mp3)

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