If the previous releases from the members of the highly
original and eclectic Animal Collective have explored
the sonic realms of electronic music in a variety of
shapes and forms, now that they have expanded to a full
blown quartet, comprising Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deaken
and Geologist, the Collective has taken on to conquer
the equally challenging post-rock shores with two albums
released almost simultaneously, as the band is preparing
an onslaught on the UK with the release of a double
album compiling some of their early work due out on
Fat-Cat at the end of the summer, with live dates to
follow.
The Brooklyn-based Animal Collective have already released
a handful of albums, from Panda Bear’s 1998 self
titled debut to last year’s limited edition vinyl-only
live recording Hollinndagain, published under
the Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist banner. The band
has also consistently toured the USA, notably with friends
Black Dice. Claiming
references ranging from hardcore punk to West Coast
isolationists and seventies avant-garde rock outfits
such as Can or Amon Düül, the music of the
Animal Collective appears at once extremely modern and
respectfully set in rock tradition.
Released earlier this year on Catsup Plate Records,
with the first thousand copies made available in handmade
chipboard digipaks, Campfire Songs sees the
band replacing the electronic constructions of their
previous work with acoustic guitars. Recorded live on
three mini-disc recorders, while the band was playing
on a screened-in porch in rural Maryland, Campfire
Songs is not your usual clean piece of recordings.
Despite the extra field recordings added later on a
couple of tracks, the absence of technical trickery
and the regular external sonic interferences perceptible
give this record an uncanny density. Conscious that
the slightest disturbance could jeopardise the fragile
balance of sound, it is impossible not to get entirely
absorbed by the musical context on offer here. From
the opening line of Queen In My Pictures to
De Soto De Son, the Collective build repetitive
melodies around drone-like guitar lines, deflecting
the minimalist approach by filling part of the empty
spaces with vocal incantations. The beautiful and heartfelt
Doggy in particular shows the band in admirable
creative streak. As the melody and the pace ebb and
flow, the song seem to come together only to dislocate
again, as if pieces of a puzzle were spread out as soon
as the jigsaw starts taking shape. The result is a short
but fascinating record that defies all preconceptions
of what music should be.
Here Comes The Indian, first release of the
Collective’s new Paw Tracks record label, set
up as a sister label to New York-based Carpark Records,
is in many aspects the result of a more elaborate creative
process. If the melodies and orchestrations are almost
as sparse and linear as those on Campfire Songs,
the general sonic ambience is far more developed, with
a variety of field recordings used as buffer between
the guitars, bass and drums on one side, and the vocals
on the other, giving the compositions defined body and
angle. These songs seem however the result of a similar
creative process. The melodies are equally lacerated
and spread apart, but, with a more obvious environmental
structure to support them, they appear more chaotic
and uncomfortable. Unlike Campfire Songs, Here
Comes The Indian establishes a link with previous
recordings by unashamedly mixing traditional instrumentation
and electronic treatments. The album opens with two
insane takes on post-(punk)rock. Native Belle
and Hey Light seem to form one as the former
merges into the later almost unnoticed. With a tribal
beat and screams crashing into the stop/start backdrop
of treated sounds and wild guitars, Native Belle
could discourage the light-hearted. Hey Light
pursues on very similar grounds, yet the band seem to
finally recover some kind of mental control over their
music as a more defined melody hangs on for a while.
Difficult start to a difficult album, both Native
Belle and Hey Light prove extremely rewarding
once they’ve revealed their intrinsic beauty.
This wild spirit is to be found all throughout this
album expressed in a variety of ways, from the hypnotic
vocal incantations of Panic to the psychedelic
drones of Two Sails On A Sound. The Animal
Collective constantly drift from one extreme to the
other, relying in turn on utter noise or deafening silences
to expose their music.
With two very different records, the Animal Collective
express a singular approach to music. From the amateurish
recording technique of Campfire Songs, giving
it its delicate and fragile ambience, to the more elaborated
soundscapes of Here Comes The Indian, the work
of the quartet proves to be equally challenging and
entertaining.
Campfire Songs 4.7/5 / Here Comes The Indian
4.3/5 |
