the of mirror eye

* Animal Collective: 02 (unknown) | Leaf House
From Live At The Bowery Ballroom : Aug 15, 2004 : New York City, New York

With band names like Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Geologist and Deakin, you’d maybe expect the Animal Collective (here and here) to sound like a bunch of aging hippies in a percussion circle surrounding a camp fire. But that would definitely be the wrong way to think about this collective of brooklynites. Their sound, while firmly planted in the psychedelic free-folk genre, manages to evolve from song to song. And along with their traditional instruments, they also incorporate glitches and washes of electronics into their cacophonous sound. One of my favorite aspects of this band is the childlike naivete in their approach to music. I can totally picture a bunch of wide eyed/bushy tailed kids, amazed at the sounds they can produce.

Their sound is everywhere and nowhere. Informed by the psychedelic freak-outs of 90s west coast isolationists like Caroliner and Sun City Girls, the emotional hooks and bursts of punk, the textures and structures of minimal techno (a la the Kompakt label), the earthiness of sixties utopians Amon Duul and Can, and the organic looseness of the best of the free and improvised music world, the Animal Collective simply cannot be pinned down.

The Animal Collective are creating the new spiritual music for the 21st century: music that is aware of tradition without being tied down to it; music unconcerned with borders and definitions. Here Comes the Indian promises transcendence, intensity, articulation, and the sublime. A passionate and mind-altering new narrative has been unleashed.

(from the Paw Tracks site)

This group has been around for awhile, but I’ve only just now become hipped to their sound. I’d heard about them before due to the incredible amount of underground press that they’ve generated but, being the contrarian that I am, avoided hearing them because I couldn’t believe that they were that good. But boy am I ever glad that I got over that and finally listened to them. They’ve consistently blown me away and everytime I listen to one of their albums, I experience something new. These tracks are from a beautifully recorded concert from last year. And if this is a typical Animal Collective concert, then I’m totally preparing to have my mind blown when I see them later this week.

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