[Hellomark]

That sound at the beginning of Car Keys is definitely an engine turning over, surprised that reviewer who called it scraping metal didn't put that together. Car Keys!!

[Ethmin]

absolutely not! it's 4 metallic bangs and then some scrapping. Nothing whatsoever that sounds like a car turning over.

[coral lord]

what is that noise in we go back right before avey starts a line in each verse

it sounds like some gravely voice saying yeahhh

god i need to hear this in HQ so i can make out what the fuck geo is up to

[wilandhugs]

coral lord wrote:

what is that noise in we go back right before avey starts a line in each verse

it sounds like some gravely voice saying yeahhh

god i need to hear this in HQ so i can make out what the fuck geo is up to

This is why I love WGB, it's got some We Tigers-ass production

[BORCHENKO??]

chik chik chik eughghgh

Sounds almost like autotune to me

[BORCHENKO??]

wilandhugs wrote:

coral lord wrote:

what is that noise in we go back right before avey starts a line in each verse

it sounds like some gravely voice saying yeahhh

god i need to hear this in HQ so i can make out what the fuck geo is up to

This is why I love WGB, it's got some We Tigers-ass production

Hard agree. First AC track I've heard in a long time that has left me thinking "What the fuck did I just hear" in a really good way

[Calamity Pete]

the noises in Car Keys are panda bear tripping over his bong and knocking over all the beer cans crowding his studio floor, in a comical domino-like fashion

[destiny]

Cherokee climax. Wow it's like the aurora borealis

[Booperdoop12]

Can someone send me a link to the freebird. That would be very appreciated

[Hellomark]

coral lord wrote:

what is that noise in we go back right before avey starts a line in each verse

it sounds like some gravely voice saying yeahhh

god i need to hear this in HQ so i can make out what the fuck geo is up to

YES I fucking love this detail, takes the so ng to another level. And yeah it's We Tigersish for sure, I said it earlier but a lot of the vocal production on this album reminds me of Sung Tongs.

Ethmin wrote:

absolutely not! it's 4 metallic bangs and then some scrapping. Nothing whatsoever that sounds like a car turning over.

I'm like 99% it's an engine. It's really weird and distant sounding for sure.

[destiny]

I hope gem and I is recorded like we go back

[coral lord]

dragon slayer is so lush, it's exactly what i hoped they'd do with it. can't believe a nearly 3 year payoff waiting to hear these studio versions in hq is coming friday.

[rampface]

Gem and I really should have been on this

[Calamity Pete]

I feel like the next record will have a pretty similar balance of contrasting lush, ambient tunes, with the really quirky pop ones like Gem and I

[MFpotus]

coral lord wrote:

cherokee's climax is so good that i almost expect a loud ovation after it explodes even on the studio version

YES this will take me a while to get used to.

[coral lord]

rampface wrote:

Gem and I really should have been on this

honestly yeah, it's a shame it didn't make it. but i do love the reason it didn't make it.

it's going to sound fucking incredible whenever we get it.

[destiny]

Yeah, for sure. Gem and I got straight upgraded.

[foxtrot]

i'm stuck in the same bloody loop i was in yesterday of refreshing this thread every 5 minutes to get a little whiff of the feeling of listening to this album. couple more hours and i will finally be immersed.

keep the words coming in the meantime gang. loving all the excitement/chat.

[KidEatsKeyboard]

1. Royal and Desire
2. Cherokee
3. Prester John
4. Dragon Slayer
5. Strung with Everything
6. We Go Back
7. Passer-by
8. Walker
9. Car Keys

A bit late to this but here's my ranking, for now at least. Genuinely difficult. Such a consistent album.

Full lengthy track-by-track thoughts:

Spoiler: show

R&D and Cherokee are just perfection, they were my favorites since the 2019 boots so I'm glad the magic has held up. I have definitely overplayed Prester John but it's just such a special song. I have some complaints about the way Dragon Slayer came out but I still love the core of the song too much to not consider it a favorite. Strung has some of the best production on the album, it's such a fun song and I think I would rank it even higher if the final section didn't drag on as much. We Go Back came out really great, it's really addictive in how bit-sized it is and the We Tigers production comparisons are on-point, really satisfying to listen to. Passer-by is similarly satisfying because of how thick the bass and drums are, really elevates the song. Walker was one of my top favorites from the 2019 boots, and I still love it, but for entirely different reasons; I used to think of it as rainy and cute and now it's so colorful and funky, and it's great but it's just not as aesthetically pleasing for me. Car Keys was one of my least favorites even from the boots, and I really thought it was going to end up being one of the best to me after how much it evolved in 2021 live stuff, but man... it's just so weird. I don't dislike anything about it, but it's just so Centipede Hz in a way that it sticks out like a sore thumb. It's a great song but it's really a spooky "alien rock" song lumped in with a lot of triumphant and airy pop songs.

[Calamity Pete]

I just love car keys. I think its addictive. The melody is kind of odd in a satisfying way and the swirling call-and-response of the synth and xylophone (?) are amazing to me. That bizarre percussion that comes is makes it so much better. It wont get out of my head. The drums are great too. And the outro is really thrilling to me. I think it might be my favorite PB tune in awhile

[conswaygo]

foxtrot wrote:

i'm stuck in the same bloody loop i was in yesterday of refreshing this thread every 5 minutes to get a little whiff of the feeling of listening to this album. couple more hours and i will finally be immersed.

keep the words coming in the meantime gang. loving all the excitement/chat.

Really excited for you to hear this fox

[tdegenaro]

i know its been said but goddamn the animal collective reddit sucks

[Hellomark]

I'm still kind of getting used to the slower tempo on Car Keys but the vocals are perfect and the way the outro builds is just amazing, peak AC. Had my jaw on the floor the first time I heard it.

[lhtd]

tdegenaro wrote:

i know its been said but goddamn the animal collective reddit sucks

truly. it sucks to head over there when ca is slow

[dio]

I'm not saying to wait Fox, rips pretty deec. But you might consider waiting a few more days since you made it so far, just saying.



Someone mentioned they're having trouble re-contextualizing the whole thing and I admit I am struggling with that too. Having the actual disc and record and official 320 digital mp3s will help a TON but even beyond that, having had the middle chunk of this album for a while is gonna make that a process. Kiiiiinda wish I never heard Strung


A general thought: I just love this instrumentation and like sound-palette and vibe from them... The metallic clangy stuff, the subtle wind and string samples/sounding-synths here and there.... Panda drums omg. And the kind of general kitchen-sink-but-still-restrained approach. Panda sounds like the king of junkyard music on Car Keys. Idk its just a great mode for them. Can Skiffs 2 be like, the same, like make a literal sequel to this with everything left over

[Royal and Desire]

Love this band, Time Skiffs is competing to be a favorite anco record

I have no idea what response I will have when I get to hear better quality

[unrecordednight]

unpopular wrote:

BORCHENKO?? wrote:

Juan wrote:

KOPped the last record at Queen west!!! No record player though

I'm literally on my way there right now

I have a record player

Why would you do this

this is the funniest interaction ive ever seen on this site

lmfao yeah i loved this, if the album didn't freebird shortly thereafter then this would have become even funnier

[destiny]

Royal and Desire just spins around you effortlessly

[tdegenaro]

FEEL ON1NE!!! wrote:

Royal and Desire just spins around you effortlessly

cherokee 2019 and R&D always have been my hot two for this era so i'm glad they're both on time skiffs uno. cannot wait for hq of these bouys

[Ethmin]

dio wrote:

Someone mentioned they're having trouble re-contextualizing the whole thing and I admit I am struggling with that too. Having the actual disc and record and official 320 digital mp3s will help a TON but even beyond that, having had the middle chunk of this album for a while is gonna make that a process. Kiiiiinda wish I never heard Strung

yeah exactly. It's an interesting approach for them. The obvious thing to do would have been to give us DS and CR as singles. But then I'd probably be starting the album on PJ after wearing out DS&CR. So at least now I am listening to the whole record every time.

[foxtrot]

dio wrote:

I'm not saying to wait Fox, rips pretty deec. But you might consider waiting a few more days since you made it so far, just saying.

A general thought: I just love this instrumentation and like sound-palette and vibe from them... The metallic clangy stuff, the subtle wind and string samples/sounding-synths here and there.... Panda drums omg. And the kind of general kitchen-sink-but-still-restrained approach. Panda sounds like the king of junkyard music on Car Keys. Idk its just a great mode for them. Can Skiffs 2 be like, the same, like make a literal sequel to this with everything left over

Nah, I'm still going to listen
I'm precious about the circumstances of my first listen but not the quality. As long as it is decent, I am in! can enjoying picking apart sonic details in HQ later!

Re: your other thoughts - They've talked a lot about how Music Box was the genesis for this era. I wonder how much they have kept it in the forefront of their minds.

When you say stuff like "metallic clangy stuff", "wind and string samples", "kitchen-sink-but-still-restrained", "junkyard music"... that sounds a hell of a lot like Music Box ethos. You were there too dio. I wonder if they have deliberately tried to retain the feel of those shows in the eventual studio incarnation of the era.

[dio]

seems like it! the percussion and some of the samples definitely seem Music Box-ish. Of course Panda wasn't actually there for that but he still got w/ the program. It comes across on record more than live where I wasn't totally getting it.

Its so accurate to the live energy (in MOST ways) while also having its own weird vibe as a like album, not just song-based collection

the vinyl rip sounds a little more like Slasher Flicks than I think its supposed to irl

[dio]

'Skiffs' is really appropriate as a phonetic mirror of the actual sounds therin. Things sound very skiffy.

also 'time' because of all the crazy drumming. For me this might be mooooostly a record of sick drumming. And it also has their songs on top of that.

[Calamity Pete]

Yea I was kind of unsure about the drumming from the singles (although VERY sure from the live vids). But the drumming is great. Cool to see PB reinvent his style still, and this time with a conventional kit

[evan6032]

Appreciating DS more now that I hear it in album context. It was never a favorite. It is a great mood setter for this set though. Do wish that slide guitar came through more though

[speen]

noahs drumming really rules. he’s always said he’s inspired by stewart copeland, which ive never really seen until now

[nrosado95]

Can someone please hook me up with the goods?

[dio]

speen wrote:

noahs drumming really rules. he’s always said he’s inspired by stewart copeland, which ive never really seen until now

I literally had the thought following SWE release that his Stewart Copeland was finally showing and I can still weirdly trace it back to his Feels mode but its obviously way different now


drums and crazy keyboard parts are the secret sauce of this album. But also a chef's taste for sick combinations. And the mix appppears to be incredible. Marta Salongi can probably mix all their stuff from now on? Will confirm upon 320 digital wash

seems like a neutral mix if that makes sense.

Noah sounds amazing on Car Keys (I'm listening again, I dragged them out of my recycling bin, its awesome though)

[speen]

Oh yeah the mixing is INCREDIBLE. I’m really not used to any AC output being mixed well lol, i feel like everything from the 2010s had some aspect about the mixing that irritated me

[dio]

Its honestly insane... the mixing and the balance and general palette.

Its like they tone adjusted on a slider in the spot between CHZ and Slasher Flicks and Feels and MPP a bit to find their new way of occupying a stereo field.

The go-for-the-throat beauty of Cherokee synths smack of something even a little... dare I say... Spirit-y?? hmmm

Cherokee climax hits a little harder now that I know I'm not listening to the Blast version. They went insane on that.