Rafter Roberts — a man who skillfully splits his time between mixing for artists like Sufjan Stevens and Fiery Furnaces, playing in the band Bunky, writing ad jingles and producing his own solo albums — seems to be having a ball. If the riotous, eclectic material on his most recent solo record "Animal Feelings" is any indication, that is.
On the titular track, Rafter (his artist name) claims he has "animal feelings, animal thoughts." It seems true; the song, as well as the entire collection, sounds like a stream-of-consciousness rampage through the ears — one that insists on celebration and tomfoolery. While Rafter's hodgepodge arrangements parade, they never trample. "Animal Feelings" proves to be a wild but enjoyable ride.
The album opens with "No F-----g Around," a slick R&B electronic jam whose title suggests the exact opposite of what Rafter's music represents. Rafter "f---s around" plenty with talk-box backdrops, playful handclaps and what might be a cowbell. The track manages to groove while breaking the rules.
The album as a whole is a medley of styles and instruments, managing to experiment with and layer sounds while still remaining a collective musical work. While the opening track tends toward R&B, Rafter later leans toward soul in "Feels Good" — a slow jam with a robust background beat and flickering guitar accents to his words. A later track titled "Love Makes You Happy" mixes bright lyrics with insistent, rough guitar riffs and interspersed spoken word. The combination of rowdy rock and trilling tambourine match the bittersweet chorus, which proclaims "Love makes you happy/ when it's not making you sad."
In songs like "Beauty Beauty" and "Timeless Form, Formless Time," Rafter's circuitous arrangements include elements of jazzy horns. One constant that keeps the mélange of songs strung together is Rafter's penchant for clanging pot-and-pan percussion. In tracks like "A Frame," the kitchenware beats enter near the end, allowing an otherwise smooth sound to come undone.
Lyrically, Rafter seems to pull thoughts from thin air and toss them onto the tracks. He bounces between love, lust and banalities throughout the album, but it's more entertaining than irritating. On "A Frame," Rafter cleverly quips "I'm doing counting/ ‘Cause there's safety in numbers." His voice suggests a chuckle at the tail end of his statements, as if he's in on the joke.
In "Timeless Form, Formless Time," Rafter layers a tropical beat with simplistic, almost childlike verses like, "I don't care for original thought/ Because I like you, I love you a lot." That innocent profession of adoration is juxtaposed with a sensual, more primal one in the catchy, funky "Fruit," when Rafter pleads, "I know that you love me/ if you would share your fruit with me."
Still, the chorus in "Paper" is the one that sticks. The danceable song is layered with a repeated call of "You motherf-----s, you motherf-----s/ where did you go." While the track might otherwise have been a poppy, playful tune to swing one's hips to, Rafter's lyrics imbue it with a punchy sense of flippancy. Remember, Rafter is having a good time.
Rafter's sly, stream-of-consciousness verses, paired with a range of instruments and styles, keep his work from seeming stale or redundant. The songs tend to repeat lyrics over and over again — like when one song breaks down until it's a steady stream of the words "a frame" repeated for a minute or so. While it sometimes feels like these interludes could be cut down, the sounds beneath the broken-record phrases keep the sections engaging enough.
"Animal Feelings" is easy listening, but that doesn't mean it's simple. Rafter manages to maintain a sonically diverse and layered presentation while emphasizing his raucous spirit and spontaneous lyrics. While the album as a whole could be an energetic soundtrack at the gym, each song can also be dissected into its parts: trumpet blares amid groovy beats and lyrical musings over spoken word.
The epitome of cool is being able to pull it off while looking like one isn't trying too hard, right? If that's the case, Rafter is one cool guy.
