On their third record,
Chicago’s Post Animal have honed their previous mix of prog,
psychedelia and riff rock to reach ludicrously effective levels. This is work
that veers in numerous directions, but as an initial point of reference
think Tame Impala with 30% added Black Sabbath. Forward
Motion Godyssey opens with ‘Your Life Away’, a soft, proggy ramble
that eventually gives way to building synths, and, finally, triumphant guitar.
This brilliant but somewhat ramshackle start – which shouldn’t work as an
opening to an album but really does – is then immediately abandoned in favour
of riff driven focus on track 2 (‘Post Animal’, a track named after the band
itself: which itself is a weird choice for track 2 of album 3). This 1-2 microcosm is shorthand for the whole album: Forward Motion Godyssey is an
exploratory record that rewards investment and heads down a large number of
different paths – from the straight and narrow to the wild and open. ‘In a
Paradise’ is a masterclass in accessible prog rock (hum it as you try to unpick
it) and ‘Schedule’ is a wonderful glittering piece of pop psychedelia. But
there are also much weirder mood pieces on show (see ‘The Whole’, or
‘Sifting’). Overall, it’s a perfect mix of exploration and hooks, and has kept
me coming back again and again.