360 records from 2000: 82. Animal collective - Spirit they're gone spirit they've vanished

82. Animal collective: Spirit they’re gone spirit they’ve vanished

Country: US
Artist: Duo
Career: debut
Language: English
Genre: Electronica / Indie

There didn’t seem to be much temporal sense to ‘00s music, everything sort of happening besides each other. It didn’t really matter what came before what. But it’s perplexing to realize Animal Collective predate the Strokes. I didn’t hear this record at the time – very few people did, I’d think. The first time the band registered on my radar was when the very alternative (cLOUDDEAD, Karate, Modest Mouse, that sort of thing) singer in a band I played the banjo in (guess what, it didn’t last), loaned me the red album (‘Sung tongs’). I guess this was around 2005 or 2006. After that I heard most of their albums, glad that they slowly moved in a more song-orientated direction and a less hyperactive direction, meeting me halfway which they finally did. But I never explored the earlier stuff, I assumed it would be a whirl of hiss and bleeps. 

So I’m pretty surprised they started out with a very tuneful album, full of memorable songs, no hyperactive stuff that gives me a headache, and with Avey Tare at the top of his abilities (it’s very much his album with Panda Bear helping out, impressively, on drums). Hell, he plays a recognizable piano most of the time. 

That’s not to say this is a normal sounding album. It’s pretty out there by all accounts. These are long songs which start out a long way from shore and they drift further out by the minute. But it’s not some orgy of noise and hallucinogenics. Man, Avey Tare plays a beautiful piano and Panda Bear plays mean drums, very swinging and loose but in control. It starts off with the title track’s lonesome mantra of organ and repetitive sing song melody (under a wash of noise). ‘April and the phantom’ is a limber pop song, with some dreamy jazz chords and melodic bass playing, interrupted by a great turn-the-beat-around middle eight which really kicks it off. And so on with almost 70s piano ballad ‘Penny dreadfuls’. They save the best for last though: ‘Alvin row’, a 12-minute epic moving from section to section, again anchored by some great piano playing and singing. It’s a new favorite for me in the Animal Collective-oeuvre.

At its best: April and the phantom, Penny dreadfuls, Chocolate girl, Alvin row