Dripping with goodness

When I was younger, I listened to the Grateful Dead and the Shins like it was the only music that mattered. I was a kid spending time with music that lifted me ­— irony be damned.

I feel like that kid again when I listen to the new Animal Collective single.

A-side “Honeycomb” has the bouncy density 2008’s gorgeous “Water Curses.” It’s a manic Avey Tare-fronted track with abrupt starts and stops, and perfect harmonies from Panda Bear. B-side “Gotham” is heavier and slower. The star of the song is Avey Tare’s voice, which he slurs and strains and screams against a busy instrumental as humid as the Midwest summer.

This single is the first time Animal Collective has sounded like a live band on record since “Here Comes the Indian.” It’s largely due to the return of Deakin on guitar and Panda Bear on a full drum kit.

Animal Collective might have reverted to a more conventional setup, but its music still sounds light-years ahead of any other act in the indie mainstream. They still have it in them after all these years.

By Patrick Beane