Album: Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion, (Domino)

Accosted by Leslie Crowther in the supermarket aisle and cajoled into doing the taste test, you'd swear that 'Merriweather Post Pavilion' was a Mercury Rev record.

The ninth album by the Baltimore-bred avant garde group tinkles and bleeps idyllically, conjuring mental images of, by turn, flowery meadows or deep space. Musical layers waft and weave impressionistically, in a manner influenced by the Beach Boys' 'Smile'. Pretty in a vague sort of way, but all too easy to forget you're listening to it.

Pick of the album: If only for the title: 'Lion in a Coma'

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