Animal Collective are in a strange position as a band. They’ve made those early albums beloved by hardcore fans. They’ve made the critically acclaimed breakthrough album, and the knotty follow-up. Its members have forged successful solo careers, with their albums often being just lauded just as much as the main band’s. This leaves the obvious question of what more the band have to say, or if one were to be even more blunt: what reasons do they have for releasing anything new? The answer from Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and Geologist is that they can create the most enjoyable album of their career, and also the album that will probably wind up the band’s detractors the most.

Like any good opening track should do, the tone for the whole album is set by 'FloriDada'. Featuring yelping vocals and sounding not unlike the theme tune to a children’s television programme, the song on paper sounds like a nightmare. Yet the band overcomes this by delivering a simply fantastic melody that lodges firmly in the back of your head, willingly or not. The song is probably the most accessible of the band’s career; for all of their charms, Animal Collective could not be accused of being overly generous in the banger department, but 'FloriDada' goes a long way to addressing that.

Indeed, a feature of Painting With is that the tunes rather sneak up on you. For much of 'The Burglars' there is so much going on sonically that it can be hard to discern any melody, let alone the lyrics. The chaos soon takes on a hypnotic quality though, and by the end of the song Panda Bear’s refrain of “what you think you own, you don’t” stands out for its yearning beauty. 'Golden Gal' has a similar quality, opening surreally with a sample from the sitcom Golden Girls and a fairly standard beat, before really growing into its melody only in the last third of the song.

The band have said in interviews prior to the release of the album that they wanted to create punchier pop songs and capture the spirit of The Ramones. Quite what Johnny, Dee Dee and co. would have made of the cutesy clip about dinosaurs that opens 'Hocus Pocus' is another matter, but one can see where the band are coming from. No song reaches the five minute mark, with the band choosing to go for direct openings rather than any long drawn-out sections. Brevity is an attribute they seem to value, and Painting With certainly does not outstay its welcome. Rather, its concision lends the album a curiously addictive charm.

The album’s lyrical concerns seem to match the joyous mood. Although it can be difficult to make out what Panda and Avey are actually going on about, songs like 'Vertical' and 'Recycling' reflect not only a love of nature, but a feeling that so much is going wrong with the world that we may as well revel in it whilst we can.

There is much on Painting With that will fuel Animal Collective’s detractors. In fact the band seem to have doubled down on the tics that so irritate some listeners. Avery and Panda still share vocals, only this time they do it far more often and far more quickly. Some will find the saccharine nature of the album, so well embodied by 'FloriDada', too much to stomach. It is also true that there is no song given time to space and breathe on this album, as 'Bluish' did to such good effect on 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavillion. Perhaps 'Bagels in Kiev', where Panda reflects on his grandfather back in Ukraine, but at breakneck speed, represents something of a missed opportunity.

Painting With is not going to change many people’s minds about Animal Collective. For those already converted to the cause though, it represents perhaps the purest and most entertaining distillation of what Animal Collective do. Perfecting their craft seems like quite a good reason to continue releasing albums.