History YMMV / AnimalCollective

* BrokenBase: ''Danse Manatee'', their second album and first with Geologist, is either their worst album due to it's more abrasive and experimental sound [[note]]Pitchfork gave it a 3.9, the lowest they've ever given an Animal Collective album, and called it "the musical equivalent of paste eating[[/note]] or an unfairly maligned gem reminiscent of classic {{Krautrock}}.

* BrokenBase: ''Danse Manatee'', their second album and first with Geologist, is either their worst album due to it's more abrasive and experimental sound [[note]]Pitchfork gave it a 3.9, the lowest they've ever given an {=AnCo=} album, and called it "the musical equivalent of paste eating[[/note]] or an unfairly maligned gem reminiscent of classic {{Krautrock}}.

** [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Bonefish]].[[note]]"Peacebone", the most popular song from ''Strawberry Jam'', inexplicably has a sample of a man saying "bonefish" repeated throughout the song. (It's taken from [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh9b27 this recording]] from Cornell University's Macauley Library). On Platform/YouTube uploads of the song, or whenever it's brought up on the subreddit or /mu/, expect half the comments to just be people saying "Bonefish" and nothing else.[[/note]]
** The cover to ''Merriwether Post Pavillion'' is just as iconic to /mu/ as the one to ''Music/InTheAeroplaneOverTheSea''. To the point where if you go on the board, [[https://betweenthebard.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/1405099255590.png this image that combined the two]] (and the one for ''[[Music/DeathGrips No Love Deep Web]]'') is the first thing you see.

** [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Bonefish]].[[note]]"Peacebone", the most popular song from ''Strawberry Jam'', inexplicably has a sample of a man saying "bonefish" repeated throughout the song. (It's taken from [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh9b27 this recording]] from Cornell University's Macauley Library). On YouTube uploads of the song, or it's brought up on the subreddit or /mu/, expect half the comments to just be people saying "Bonefish" and nothing else.[[/note]]

* MemeticMutation: From the closed captions of a performance of "#1" on ''Series/LateNightWithConanOBrien'': [[https://imgur.com/Q7HLs [woman vocalizing] [man speaking backwards]]]. [[note]]The "woman" is [[ViewerGenderConfusion Panda Bear]][[/note]]
** 7.4/"Like a burrito thrown at your windshield" [[note]]The former was Pitchfork's score for ''Centipede Hertz'', contributing to the perception that the album was a letdown compared to ''Merriwether Post Pavillion''. It was a common meme on [[Website/FourChan /mu]/], as a symbol of the common view that the album was either a disappointing followup to ''Merriwether Post Pavillion'' and/or a sign that the band was running out of creative juices. The latter was a strange line from the Pitchfork review referring to what the writer felt was overstuffed production. Whenever the album gets mentioned on /mu/ or the Animal Collective subreddit, someone will always mention burritos.[[/note]]

* VindicatedByHistory: With that said, ''Centipede Hz'' has actually grown in stature since its release. Contemporary reviews (such as Pitchfork's infamous "like a burrito thrown at your windshield" review) knocked it as overstuffed and overproduced, and it was seen as a let down compared to the much more polished ''Merriwether Post Pavillion''. But it provided a blueprint for later albums that would refine the noisy "alien pop" sound, and it was the first time Deakin sang on his own. Not only that, in a lot of ways it sounds more like a contemporary {{Hyperpop}} album than anything that was out in 2012, so it seems less like an outlier today.

* ArchivePanic: As of 2022, in only 22 years of existence, the group had already released 11 studio albums, 12 [=EPs=], 19 singles (often with exclusive B-sides), 6 live albums composed mostly of original material, and the visual albums ''ODDSAC'' and ''Tangerine Reef''. And that's not even counting all of the member's side projects, live songs that never made it on an album or compilation, and collaborations with other artists. And to add to the confusion, absolutely none of their albums sound even remotely the same.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: ''Danse Manatee'' and ''Hollindagain'' especially, but to some degree ''all'' of their music is like this. Of course, it's more like "True '''Fun''' Is Incomprehensible" in their case...

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: ''Danse Manatee'' and ''Hollindagain'' especially, but to some degree ''all'' of their music is like this. Of course, it's more like "True '''Fun''' Is Incomprehensible" in their case...
* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: While they admit ingesting all sorts of psychedelic substances, they rather dislike the thought of writing or recording while under the influence.

* FaceOfTheBand: They desperately try to subvert this trope, but Avey Tare and Panda Bear - as the group's singers - have basically become this, mostly because up to 2018 they were the only two who have been on every album and concert - with the exception of the EP Transverse Temporal Gyrus for Panda and some acoustic tour in Japan in 2004 for Avey. Panda's streak of appearing on every album was interrupted with the release of ''Tangerine Reef'', but it hasn't swayed his status as this at all.

* NamesTheSame: No, "For Reverend Green" does not have to do with the {{TabletopGame/Clue}} character from the UK versions of the board game.

* UncannyValley: Most of the vocal treatments on ''Danse Manatee'' and ''Ark''.

* ArchivePanic: As of 2022, in only 22 years of existence, the group had already released 11 studio albums, 12 EPs, 19 singles (often with exclusive B-sides), 6 live albums composed mostly of original material, and the visual albums ''ODDSAC'' and ''Tangerine Reef''. And that's not even counting all of the member's side projects, live songs that never made it on an album or compilation, and collaborations with other artists. And to add to the confusion, absolutely none of their albums sound even remotely the same.
* ColbertBump: Fans of ''Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos'' quickly gravitated towards this band after ''WebVideo/EverymanHYBRID'' used both "Who Could Win A Rabbit" and "Did You See the Words" throughout the course of the series. The series also referenced many other Animal Collective songs in other formats, such as having a character named "Reverend Green" in Doctor Corenthal's letters, and the ''Blog/CanYouSeeTheWords'' blog (whose title is a variation of "Did You See the Words") having the lyrics for "Peacebone" in one post.

* MemeticBadass: Deakin, who since his return, is often joked to be the true leader, genius and face of the band despite his very infrequent appearances with the band.
** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] to many fans when his debut solo album was finally released after years of anticipation to considerable acclaim.

** '''''FLESH CANOE.'''''

* [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs What Do You Mean, It Wasn't Made On Drugs?]]: While they admit ingesting all sorts of psychedelic substances, they rather dislike the thought of writing or recording while under the influence.