The experimental pop band from Baltimore used recordings from their tours through Boulder, Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas in 2009. “Ballet Slippers” includes a wide range of their earlier albums, from their 2001 “Danse Manatee,” to the 2009 “Fall Be Nice”.
“Ballet Slippers” takes a different approach to some of the classic songs of Animal Collective. Animal Collective took their characteristic folk styled songs and turned them into experimental-noise rock songs.
Animal Collective took their live performance as an opportunity to switch their style up, making it more suiting with their latest album “Tangerine Reef”. This album gets closer to noise rock and experimental music.
These changes make the album incredibly original. I find most live albums to be, on its majority, uninventive. Many artists make their live performances a copy of their records. But Animal Collective made this album worth listening to just by remastering and renewing their original songs.
Even from the start, with “In The Flowers,” the album sets a vibe that reminds the listener of a Sci-Fi movie. The songs appear to be taken out of a film based on space.
The albums set a scene that makes back vocals and percussion protagonists. When turning away from their folk style, the synths set the rhythm of the music with steady beats mixed with computerised scales.
And just like that, lyrics move into the background and the harmonies become an essential part of the performance.
The album is not made for dancing or singing to the top of your lungs, but to truly stop and listen to the music. “Ballet Slippers”, is the perfect album to listen to as ambient noise while studying or trying to relax.
