Quick Initial Response To Merriweather Post Pavillion

Animal Collective's new album has an interesting paradox at its center. In many ways its their most approachable, accessible and (from a songwriting perspective) straightforward album yet, avoiding both Avey Tare's screaming and the band's tendency towards droney jammy nonsense (they're the only band I like whose songs occasionally make me feel physically ill).  At the same time, it's the least human-sounding album they've made. Actually, it's one of the least human-sounding albums I've ever heard, way more deliberately artificial than, say, Kid-A.  Everything on it from vocals to guitars (when you can hear them) to keyboards and drums sounds manipulated, programmed, "arranged" in a a highly artificial way. There's barely a note on the album that sounds like it could have possibly been recorded live in the studio, even acoustic guitar strums sound like reverbed samples.  It's a bizarre contradiction, given that that kind of artificiality frequently renders work less approachable, accessible and straightforward.