Your visit begins "In the Flowers," but this is not terrestrial flora. Like the almond eyed shapes on the CD booklet, the sounds of this song undulate to the rhythm of shifting currents. At its center is a fast-marching drum pulse, which radiates out into ecstatic, Beach Boys vocal harmonies, and then far beyond, trailing in waves of sparkling silver reverb out of the atmosphere.

"Bluish" is even wetter, still. The guitar here is soaked in a maxed-out chorus effect, among other form-eroding treatments. In lesser hands, such sonic indulgence would be just that. Animal Collective, however, are careful to invest each track with the heart of a real song and to never lose sight of it, despite the inventiveness of their arrangements. When a lyric as beautifully simple as "I like the way you squeeze my hand" bubbles to the surface, you know these guys aren't just ingenious sculptors of sound.

"My Girls" is tethered closer to earth, as Panda Bear (probably), shaker in hand, keeps a grounding beat. Around this, the rest of the band builds a crystalline cathedral from rapid, Philip Glass-like keyboard arpeggiations. When the overlapping, call-and-response vocals of the verses suddenly subside, we hear, "I don't need to seem like I care about material things." There's little worry of that. We know these boys have their heads in the clouds.

"No More Runnin" is the driest, sparest track here. Repeating throughout is something like the sound of a match being struck and kindling catching fire. Around the perimeter of the song's warm glow, chimes twinkle a meandering lullaby. It's the album's penultimate track, pulling you towards a premature sleep. You'll be awakened quickly, though, by closing cut, "Brothersport." The band again reveal their penchant for the minimalist school, as alternating bursts of steam-whistle "whoo"s threaten to induce insanity. Happily, this element disappears mid-song, and the tropical party vibe of the track explodes into full, calypso-on-acid bloom.

This quick-change, bipolar ending to the record may seem jarring in the abstract, but both tracks maintain the threads of continuity that weave across all of the brilliant Merriweather Post Pavilion: the effervescing splendor of Animal Collective's peculiar yet perfect musical ideas, the ethereal glory of their harmonious vocals, and a testimonial to the unbound wonder of simply being alive.

Essential Tracks: "My Girls," "Bluish," "No More Runnin"

-Michael Keefe