2. Animal Collective "My Girls"

I just want four walls and adobe slats for my girls

The centerpiece of Animal Collective's outstanding Merriweather Post Pavilion is undoubtedly "My Girls." Buoyant, infectious, and inviting, "My Girls" is thick with atmosphere; pitter-pattering with synths, awash with hand claps and synchronized "ooohs" and gorgeous harmonies by Panda Bear (a.k.a. Noah Lennox) and Avey Tare (a.k.a. David Portner). The song's cycle completely envelop you and there is something so warm, so comforting that's hard to resist.

Had the song just been about the music, it would have been enough. Yet "My Girls" is more than pretty melodies, it also gives us some of the most honest and earnest lyrics of the year and certainly the most open Animal Collective song written. Lennox's wish for a home for his wife and daughter is so basic yet revelatory. In the wake of his father's death, Lennox found himself thinking about his life, his priorities, his family and his desire to provide for them: I don't mean to seem like I care about material things / like our social status / I just want four walls and adobe slats for my girls. Four walls and adobe slats are modest but that's not the point - the point is to provide, to house. "My Girls" is a song about someone coming to terms with their adulthood and while Lennox hedges, his ultimate expression is to care for his family and with that, he grows up.