Photo by J Caldwell http://www.flickr.com/-drj
The Baltimore-based collective that is composed of Dave Portner (Avey Tare), Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), Brian Weitz (Geologist) and Josh Dibb (Deakin) are extremely prolific. They formed in 2000 with the release of Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished and have since put out eight other L.P.s (seven if you do not count the live album Hollinndagain), three E.P.s and have tirelessly toured internationally.
Their music is often hard to describe, depending on when in their career you listen to them, as they often change genres or combine many to create their own. The first half of their catalogue can best be explained as the coming together of the Collective. Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished was written entirely by Avey Tare, while Panda Bear was asked to come on to do the drums. For their next album, Danse Manatee, Avey and Panda added Geologist. Both of these albums were a lot of the band trying to find out what sort of sound they wanted to achieve. Danse involved a lot of high/low frequencies that can best be described as ambient noise. It was not until their fourth album, Campfire Songs, that Deakin became a member of the group.
It was with their fifth release, Sung Tongs, that Animal Collective began to hone in on its sound. The album was received well by critics and made the New York Times Top Ten List of 2004. The Times described it as, “trippy, loaded with vocals, tightly composed, it didn't sound much like a rock album, didn't have conventional drum sounds and hinted at folk and ritual music.” The following year they released Feels, a concept album about, well, feelings. With this album they transitioned from the more folk-inspired sound heard prominently on Sung Tongs to a more rock based song structure. They go back and forth between tight, straightforward rock songs (“Grass” and “The Purple Bottle”) and lengthier, softer, layered songs (“Banshee Beat” and “Bees”).
Again the band decided to transcend genres adding more electronic samples on their seventh full-length album Strawberry Jam. On this album they continued their trend of writing rock songs, but added more elements of pop that made this their most accessible album at the time. For their most recent release, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Deakin decided to take a break from the band. Responding to Deakin’s absence they furthered their experimentation with electronic samples and nearly abandoned all live instrumentation. The album has been very well received and debuted at #13 on the Billboard Top 200.
As mentioned above, the band has toured relentlessly over the years. Their live experience is unlike any other current band. They will first debut songs live anywhere from one to two years in advance of them appearing on an album in order to perfect them. Upon releasing studio recorded versions of the songs they will rarely play them again live. If they do play previously released songs they will most likely be remixed or reworked versions (see the difference between the studio version of “Who Could Win a Rabbit” and the live version). This provides fans or casual listeners with something special at the show: a chance to join Animal Collective in the song writing process.
Editor’s note: I hated the band the first time I saw/heard them. It took me and several of my friends many months to come around and see the light. I suggest you start with their most recent music, as it is their most accessible, and work your way back. The reward is worth the patience.
“My Girls” from Merriweather Post Pavilion
“Fireworks” from Strawberry Jam
“Grass” from Feels
“Leaf House” from Sung Tongs
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