Animal Collective's 9th its best CD

Animal Collective's ninth album is a straight-up pop record.

Shedding the guitars and experimental tendencies found on earlier releases for a more sample based-production, "Merriweather Post Pavilion" is a classic summer record brimming with vibrant anthems about finding joy in the routine.

Now down to Panda Bear, Avey Tare and Geologist, the trio at once refine and expand their multihued sound to the point of developing a distinct musical language.

The result is like listening to music through the ears of a child.

"Pavilion's" lyrical landscape is one of blooming flowers, dancing kids and happy sirens. Aquatic bass splashes go hand-in-hand with questions like "Do you want to go stroll down and find a stream?" Swirling melodies either float toward an infinite blue sky or mate in the clouds. Drum machines mimic communal handclaps.

Through digital trickery, electronics wizard Geologist backs hooks with translucent drones and airy electronic flourishes for an aural prism.

In the same way, Tare and Panda Bear's florid harmonies lend new meaning to familiar phrases. The album even features at least one straightforward ballad, "Bluish," on which Tare sings in a half-falsetto. Doe-eyed meditations like "If I could just leave my body for a night" perfectly frame the record's tint.

The album is appropriately named after the Maryland concert venue designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. With "Merriweather Post Pavilion," the Collective have constructed a masterpiece of sonic architecture.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: A whipping beat, almost dirty South bassline and fluttering synths ground Panda Bear's material aspirations on "My Girls," as he sends a kaleidoscopic love letter to the ladies in his life.