There’s a quote somewhere from Coldplay’s Chris Martin in which he admits the band he fronts plagiarized itself on X&Y due to its similarity to A Rush of Blood to the Head. Though we know Joe Satriani would have more to say on the subject, it’s interesting when an artist is aware of how derivative his own work is. Animal Collective’s music exists on a completely different plane than that of Coldplay, but they might have a sentiment similar to Martin’s when reflecting on Painting With (Domino Recording Co.) some time from now.

Painting With consists of a dozen bids to create an iconic Animal Collective song in the band’s current melodious era (Strawberry Jam and onward). These are by-and-large “Strawberry Jam” and “My Girls” soundalikes. But while those are great songs, forcibly emulating them proves somewhat exhausting. Over these 12 attempts at recreation, Painting With yields as many excellent cuts (“FloriDada,” “Golden Gal,” and even “The Burglars”) as duds (“Vertical,” “Hocus Pocus,” and “Bagels in Kiev”). Save for some intriguing tones reminiscent of a John Carpenter score on “On Delay,” just about every song sounds like you’d expect an Animal Collective song to sound like: winding, tongue-twister vocals framed in swift tempos. If there’s a general issue with Painting With, it’s that Animal Collective is being predictably peculiar. Phaser effects, flanging, and wobbly and squishy tones come off as trite rather than serving a purpose in a cohesive soundscape. For a band that has prided itself on making such noises feel organic (and in turn make Animal Collective a household name), it now feels they’re being weird out of obligation.