Hear me out

Animal Collective are the Beatles of the 2000s. There, it's been done, and now I'll explain myself. They are not and will never be THE next Beatles, because there will be no NEXT Beatles. AnCo are moving music foward much like the Beatles, and Radiohead, and Nirvana, and (insert any other influential band of the last 20 years). What sets AnCo apart from just any influential, forward thinking band is that they brought back two elements of music that the Beatles used to conquer pop music in the 60s: beauty and weirdness. One can argue Radiohead has done the same, and they have, but AnCo have done it with a child-like optimism like the Beatles did, whereas Radiohead has found beauty in darker corners of rock music. AnCo have thrown away the blueprints of normal song structure without compromising simple pop elegance, becoming infinitely interesting, yet accessible. Unlike the Beatles, they have gone from the strange and weird, only mastering the modern pop song with their 2005 album Feels. Where the Beatles were instantly accessible, then ascending into weird genius, AnCo have had the weirdness and genius (most of the time) from the beginning and honing pop accessibility as they've matured. During the 60s, the Beatles sounded like the future, and in the 2000s-2010s, AnCo sound even further into the future of modern music. If you need examples, I'd tell you to listen to their last 3 albums and 3 EPs, but in a world of Internet inflicted ADD and the death of the album by iTunes, I'll give you a few songs to digest to see if your palette is ready for the full course meals of Feels, Strawberry Jam, and Merriweather Post Pavilion. Try out "Purple Bottle", "Grass", "My Girls", "Bluish", "Fireworks", and "What Do I Want? Sky". They are delicious and nutritious!