Exclusive Daily Download: "Grass," Animal Collective

I've been something of an Animal Collective skeptic in the past, feeling like they lapse into goofiness just when things are getting good and have a tendency to dribble into an unfocused haze of semi-wankery -- but a recent live concert experience pretty forcefully convinced me of their brilliance, and I'm hearing their recordings with new and much more favorably disposed ears these days. Their latest, "Feels," is the band's most "accessible" record to date, and lead single "Grass" is even a recognizable verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus 3-minute pop song -- although hearing their dizzying take on the classic form only italicizes the strangeness and originality of what they're doing.