[foxtrot]

WEEK 4 DRAW:

let's goooooo...

Entries 8 and 5!

8. Slothrope
Peacemaker, Rain in Cups, Ballad for reverend war character, Meet the Light Child, Sweet Road

5. Jam
Agg Report, Baby Day, Footy, Blue Noses, The Outlaw


Another solid line up! Pumped for so much of this. Can't wait to dig into Ballad of Rev and Agg Report more deeply and rant about my deep love for Meet the Light Child and Blue Noses.

[Stan]

Great week. Looking forward to these.

[Night Park]

Slothrope picks
Peacemaker
The cool, breezy vibe of this song is a pleasant variation of the frantic Painting With, an album that generally gives me a headache. The dubby bassline is very Spirit-esque and the drums kinda remind me of Pulleys. Lots of nature imagery in the lyrics. Seems like he’s singing about having hope in the face of corruption / imminent societal collapse.
Rain in Cups
Haunting and understated. I remember being surprised by the darkness of this song on first listen. Feels like a uniquely gloomy entry in their catalog, reminiscent of On a Highway. Love that snapping sound with the slapback delay. The dirge at the end makes me queasy in a good way
Ballad for Reverend War Character
This pairs well with Rain in Cups. Avey does an excellent Berman impression here, affecting a slight accent. It’s also cool to hear the animal collective aesthetic applied to a very straight-ahead, traditional song structure. I could see Avey going this direction in future solo material. Love the wiggly western guitars at the end.
Meet the Light Child
The “ohhhhhh” explosion at 2:16 feels like one of the most iconic moments on this record. And I love the little frog synth that follows. Otherwise this one kinda floats by me.
Sweet Road
Love the percussion and the children sample. This one is so catchy and creative – the guitar figure and the earworm of “I found sweet road,” which I always thought was “I own a fancy boat” – but I also find it a little precious/cloying/twee. For me it kinda evokes that moldy peaches / Juno era that I’m not crazy about.

Jam picks
Agg Report
Dreamy, innocent and pure. So nice to get lost in this. I wish they would revive this project because it was really good. The simple, dry, programmed drums are the perfect foil to the washed out synths and vocals. The descending synth melody in the first couple minutes is very similar to what Noah sings in the Daily Routine outro (“Just one step mooooreeee”)
Baby Day
With its abrasive bit-crush and sickly melody, this feels much more akin to Danse or Spirit than Sung Tongs – I can see why it didn’t make the record.
Footy
Haven’t spent much time with this song before. Vocals are very Bradford Cox at the start. That warbly synth lead playing a vaguely eastern melody at 2:16 (and throughout) would fit right in on CHz. Drums go hard, is that deaks?? Runs a little long but solid tune
Blue Noses
Great track, probably my favorite on this release. I like how the vocals are dry and a little distant, reminiscent of Campfire Songs. That noodling medieval synth feels like an early signal of the Time Skiffs sound. This track reminds me of a Nick Drake song but I can’t place which one
The Outlaw
Slasher Flicks is never a project I connected with and my feelings haven’t changed as I relisten. As great as it is to hear Avey scream again, this song resists settling into any one groove for too long and feels very scattered. I do like the early choruses – Angel’s vocals are so high and clear, and i like how they float above the murk.

[rohcti]

Slothrope

Peacemaker - maybe second after LitG for favorite PB song from PW era. Its baseline is quite nice, I can see the similarities to Spirit as Night Park said. Great lyrics too. I was very pleasantly surprised that we got such a powerful song after the PW album. Feels quite different from other songs from this era to me even though it uses hocketing extensively. "So let it iiiiiiinnnnn, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn"

Rain in Cups - I really like this song. It's such a mix of emotions. I think I get bonus points for listening to this in the rain I really like how the best drops out frequently and kinda does its own thing. The keys in the background are really nice. It's a relaxing kind of song that yet has this menacing energy behind it.

Ballad for reverend war character - this one doesn't do much for me. Maybe if I was more familiar with David Berman, I would like it more. It's more straightforward than your average Avey song, to its detriment imo. Just not my cup of tea. It sounds nice though and does work well with Rain in Cups

Meet the Light Child - best song on Danse. I recently revisited Danse and was blown away by this song. The ending in particular is beautiful and quite haunting. It's a perfect balance of beautiful and chaotic. A great showcase of PB's early drumming style. The right amount of madness. Love.

Sweet Road - very sick song. I think this song might be impossible to dislike. Such a nice spacer before the Visiting Friends epic. I really would like to know how they wrote this song. I will say... I am kinda partial to the PW version but that's not fair bc it's basically a completely different song and not really comparable. But yeah. Great stuff

[rohcti]

Jam

Agg Report - never heard this one, what a pleasure. The bass really surprised me. Not much to say, just a nice electronic track. Would love to hear more in this vein

Baby Day - I sorta groaned internally when I saw this title. I haven't heard this song in a long time and remember not caring much for it. But actually, I enjoyed it quite a bit! It's pretty simple but sounds nice. I like the little guitar part. The vocals sound a bit like Beach Boys, haha. I know, tired comparison

Footy - incredible song. Imagine having a song of this quality on your debut album. I love everything. So fucking cool. It sounds like AC and yet so uniquely its own thing. Hard to say but it might be my fav Deak song. So cathartic.

Blue Noses - nice and laid-back. Ethereal stuff from Geo. He kinda goes hard on this one. Doesn't move me in a particular way as a whole but works well with other stuff on the album. The line "we'll never taste those blue noses" kinda disturbes me though

The Outlaw - idk what exactly to say about this. I find it really enjoyable, but it's something I like more in the context of the album. Again, mixing kinda works against it a bit. Hearing it by itself reminds me of when the album first freebirded and Roses was missing so we just heard the ending transition. It was shortly after I joined so pretty memorable. Avey screams are cool, it has a drum fill and some great Angel harmonies. Feels like the 'quintessential' Slasher Flicks song in some respects

Realizing how much I use 'nice' lol oof

[madameghostly]

quick word about stan's songs since i didn't get to do them last week: great selection, stan. i see you pan, infant dressing table, and visiting friends are all album-defining ambient masterpieces. finding a lot of things to love about hollindagain thanks to this thread! urban creme kinda pales in comparison but it's still a nice slice of drone, and it's kinda funny to me how calm and relaxing two corvettes is even in the scene with the car crash. but yeah, again, great selection, i found it very cohesive

anyway! on to slothrope's selection

PEACEMAKER: i'm saying it now, this is the best song of the PW cycle, maybe even one of their top songs of the 10s. what a groove. the vocal melodies and bass line on the chorus make me nut

RAIN IN CUPS: i remember where i was when BTQ dropped. my love for the boys had been taking a bit of a backseat for a few years. the last thing they did that i actually listened to was sung tongs live with pitchfork or whatever, i only had vague knowledge of what they did at the music box, and i had less than zero interest in listening to tangerine reef

but then the pandemic hit, and AC dropped a new EP, and people started saying it was a return to form, so of course i had to listen to it. and while i'm now of the opinion that they never really lost it, that day, as soon as that opening ambience hit, i was like "oh yeah, we're so back". it's like the best musical representation of laying in bed while it pours rain outside, feeling yourself drift off to sleep as water pelts the roof of your humble home. gorgeous way for the 2020s to start, even if we did have to have a pandemic for it to happen

BALLAD FOR REVEREND WAR CHARACTER: this one's completely new to me. i never got into david berman's body of work, so instead of judging this on the merits of it being a cover, i'll have to judge it on the merits of it being its own thing. and as its own thing... it's pretty good! it is kinda funny how it has its own sound not tied to any AC era, though that makes sense given the circumstances. the lyrics are great too, but that's not really the boys' doing, is it? maybe this is my sign that i should get into silver jews

Spoiler: show

also is this the only "cum" in the entire AC discography? also also is this the only "piss" in the entire AC discography?

MEET THE LIGHT CHILD: this is the song that got me into danse manatee. sure, before i would listen to essplode and runnin' the round ball and be like "yeah, that's enough for me. the rest of this album is toooo weird and fucked up and bad," but once i metaphorically met the metaphorical light child, it's like a whole new world was opened up to me. this song is so beautiful i can't even describe it, with each of its sections bringing something good to the table, and it was my gateway drug to realizing that no, danse manatee isn't just a throwaway album with only two good songs on it. if only i knew what the fuck they were singing why did you mix the vocals so LOW guys

SWEET ROAD: not a lot to say about this song since it's so short, but i love it. it's a classic for a reason (very earwormy), and it makes for a very nice prelude to visiting friends. also shout out to the PW tour version, always great when a band manages to turn a short song into a quadruple-length live jam. damn, at this point i'm thinking i should just relisten to college street music hall

[Fovrodi]

Slothrope

Peacemaker- Sweet meditative jam, futuristic
Rain In Cups- Previously listens I found it a little too dour and muddy, works particularly well coming out of peacemaker though
Ballad of Reverend War Character- Wish I had listened to David Berman more before. Been on my radar since middle school. I think about these lyrics a lot
Meet the Light Child- '80s european sci-fi, makes more "sense" to me than it did when I was listening to it most e:@madameghostly

Spoiler: show

"Saw some workers pissing" line in On a Highway

Sweet Road- Nice sugary burst of energy, slinky guitar part really does a lot of the work here. Kind of feel like the "chorus" vox are too high in the mix. A little shrill to me even on medium volume, call me crazy

[Hellomark]

madameghostly wrote:

Spoiler: show

also is this the only "cum" in the entire AC discography? also also is this the only "piss" in the entire AC discography?

There are some workers pissin', it starts my bladder itchin'...

Spoiler: show

definitely the only cum tho lol

[foxtrot]

Night Park wrote:

Slothrope picks
Peacemaker
The cool, breezy vibe of this song is a pleasant variation of the frantic Painting With, an album that generally gives me a headache.

Love the more chilled vibe of this track. Would have been a great breather midway through PW.

madameghostly wrote:

MEET THE LIGHT CHILD: this is the song that got me into danse manatee. sure, before i would listen to essplode and runnin' the round ball and be like "yeah, that's enough for me. the rest of this album is toooo weird and fucked up and bad," but once i metaphorically met the metaphorical light child, it's like a whole new world was opened up to me. this song is so beautiful i can't even describe it, with each of its sections bringing something good to the table, and it was my gateway drug to realizing that no, danse manatee isn't just a throwaway album with only two good songs on it. if only i knew what the fuck they were singing why did you mix the vocals so LOW guys

Yeh, this is absolutely the crowning glory of Danse's mangled little heart.

rohcti wrote:

JamFooty - incredible song. Imagine having a song of this quality on your debut album. I love everything. So fucking cool. It sounds like AC and yet so uniquely its own thing. Hard to say but it might be my fav Deak song. So cathartic.

Quite a unique song for him given everything else he has given us. Love it for that reason alone.

[foxtrot]

Jam's picks:

Agg Report:
Have always loved Berserker. Doesn’t get enough attention. This track starts like a Black Dice ‘Beaches & Canyons’ outtake (the way the noises squeak and chirp a bit like mechanical seagulls) and then it slowly works its way into a sweet ambient techno jam. I love the new agey synths. Like surveying a mountain top panorama. The piano is gorgeous. Such a sweet little melody. This section feels very similar to FourTet at his best. But then Noah’s bizarre manipulated vocals start. Muffled, panned left and strangely dissociated. They turn the prettiness of the piano loop into something slightly more wistful. Dig the weird breathing noise sample bits throughout too. The second half feels coastal and calming. I really love this track. Awesome to revisit with a nice close listen today.

Baby Day:
Always had a massive soft spot for this one. Such a simple piece but that vocal interplay is just so much fun. And the super crunchy/crushed beat that drives it is quite unique. The texture is kinda sickly with the combo of scuzzy low and ringing high end. The guitar is really cool. The vocals as I said are just classic Avey/Panda magic. It’s just a little moment of purity and joy.

Footy:
This is a song I like but never listen to outside of the album so keen to zoom in here. It wastes no time getting dramatic. Feels ready to explode from the very first note. Has a bit of Cuckoo Cuckoo feeling but with a Deakin bent (obviously). Love the reverb on the keys in the pre-chorus parts. Feels heady and light - in contrast to the rumbling tension of the rest of the arrangement. That guitar line (that forms the chorus essentially) is epic and brilliant. Second verse brings that sawing guitar noise just wailing over everything. What a golden addition. The ‘what?’ Deeks throws in is very Avey. His vocal here has that radical barely controlled feeling. Drumming throughout is chaotic and brilliant. The layers of swirling synths and that guitar noise at the end add a certain spiritual quality. Loved listening to this with full focus.

Blue Noses:
MotW is a big favourite of mine and this track probably defines it more than any other. That strange looping sample at the start is so enchanting. The insect/bird sounds and chimes/bells set the scene so effectively. Avey comes in and just hits one chord for 30 seconds. Fuck yeh. Love the melody here. Simple and elegant. Geo does an incredible job of shifting his textural support. That drone and those blips and bloops ringing around like otherworldly bird calls. All the rustling sounds. How is this not classic AC? 6 minutes in and we get the chorus - “we’ll always love you, pure jolly”. The wordless part that follows feels like Dave is just lost in the moment and challenging some ancient rainforest energy. The million year old trees using him as their medium. The last 3 minutes is like catching the forest unawares. When you stop walking and just listen and then all the furtive little creatures start to emerge from their hiding places. There is a lot going on. Wonderful slab of pure Animal Collective this one.

The Outlaw:
Feels like an unusual pick considering the rest of your choices have a theme of being AC tracks that build on some simple ideas and slowly unfurl with rich textures etc into really distinct atmospheres. This one is quite different: a punchy multi-part rock song that never quite settles into a clear atmosphere. That said, its a Slasher favourite of mine because of that very fact. I love how much it jumps around. It keeps you on your toes. Suits the Halloween/carnival feel of the record. Jeremy kills it like he does across the whole record. Angel too. Especially like her high, ghostly wordless backing vocals in the verses. The first part of the song moves through various interesting passages. Ultimately though, it all feels like its just guiding us to the huge second half. The 'generations' bit is super fun (lyrics impossible to decipher) but the real thrill is the 'outlaw is the future!' part which just swirls like a fucking tornado. Love Jeremy's chaos and ALWAYS keen for Avey screams in whatever form I can get them.



Slothrope’s picks:

Peacemaker:
This and Kinda Bonkers put a whole different spin on this era. Much more mellow and smooth. This one is quite sinuous and curvy. Kinda like a snake just gracefully weaving and curving its way down the street. I think the hocketing stuff works very well here. The melody is satisfying. The beat is simple but effective. I dig the odd background backing vocal stuff in the second chorus. Neat tune though it is dwarfed by the incredible College St. version.

Rain in Cups:
Not my favourite AC release but I still think people sell it short. It has its own strange feeling and there is some great stuff to uncover. Love how murky the beat is on this track. Reminds me of Down There. The whole thing is really patient - reminds me of the pandemic and having the feeling of having all the time in the world but nothing to spend it on. Rain In Cups just gently emerges and does its thing. It’s got a gorgeous Avey melody in the verses. The chorus doesn’t quite have the same effect on me. Lots of great details in the background. The twinkling piano during the second pre-chorus section is particularly pretty.


Ballad for reverend war character:
Never heard anything by Silver Jews and only heard this once before just because it was a new AC thing. It’s nice to hear them deliver something with clear respect/reverence. There is a lot I like about it. The arrangement is delicate in a genuinely powerful way. So fragile that it perfectly reflects a psyche hanging by a thread. The melody doesn’t do much for me though. Interesting to hear Avey sing something that is so obviously not him but it does feel odd.


Meet the Light Child:
A multi-part epic that captures everything brilliant about this era. Love the twisted ambience set by the first section. The mind bending guitars spinning gloopy psychedelic webs around your face while super low bass warbles and super high noise skitters around the periphery. The sighing ‘Hey giiirrrllll’ parts. I freaking love the second section with the big ‘Whoa-oooohhh-ohhh!’ explosions. Then the totally childlike, unashamed, instinctual, super joyful little freak out – seriously – no artist I have ever heard can make stuff like this and get away with it. Love all the little screechy, chanty bits that pop up here. The next section evolves into this lush, widescreen thing of beauty. Love the gentle vocals, that sweet two note chiming melody, the droning guitars and Noah’s loose, free jazz drums bouncing like skipping rocks across a pristine lake. One of my favourite sections of the whole album. Only topped by what follows: the last part of this glorious, sensual, carnal journey through the light. Dave says ‘Meet The Light Child’ and then the breathtaking ‘Bah bah, bah bah, bah bah, berrrrrrr’ section leads the song out. I could listen to this last little section for at least another minute or two. It captures everything that makes this band brilliant and beautiful. Also love the lyrics in this one. Dave’s unique take on ‘love songs’ already emerging. In lots of ways, I feel like this song was a precursor to Feels. Top 5 AC songs of all time for me - I absolutely adore it.

Sweet Road:
Sweet Road is the perfect little interlude between the droning/vibing feel of both Kids and Visiting Friends. The laughs and kid’s voices at the start are just perfectly Sung Tongs. I bloody love the timing of the solitary hand clap in the verses. Such a fun little tune.


Great picks you two. Another week of bloody loving it.

[rohcti]

Great write ups, esp Meet the Light Child. Top 5 AC is huge

[foxtrot]

Cheers dude. MTLC is special.

4 weeks in and halfway(ish) through this thing. Many all time greats that I've loved listening to but here are some songs that I never gave enough attention to that have grown in my esteem as a result of this activity:

There's An Arrow (thanks KidEatsKeyboard)
An An Angel (thanks MF Potus)
Jungle Heat (thanks roopn)
Cemeteries (thanks williswire)
Someday I'll Grow... (thanks organic cat)
Urban Creme (thanks Stan)
Peacemaker (thanks Slothrope)
Agg Report (thanks Jam)

This has been good fun.

[Slothrope]

Wowow I got picked! Sorry I Haven’t kept up, past few weeks have been intense and last week i was with my family I hadn’t seen in almost a year, so I couldn’t make time to contribute to write ups. I have off tomorrow so I’ll be able to fire some off, i’ll spoiler the late assignments cuz I don’t want to hog the thread. Great write ups everyone, glad y’all are enjoying the weeks tunes. I wasn’t even thinking about how well Peacemaker fades into Rain in Cups, but It’s really sweet!

[rohcti]

Yeah that's a sick pairing. I didn't put any thought into how mine fit together, oops :/

Favs so far have been Baleen Sample, Urban Creme, Meet the Light Child, Jungle Heat and Agg Report either because I've heard them but never really absorbed them or I've never heard them before (as is the case with the latter two, I heard AC Crack Box forever ago though but don't remember)

[madameghostly]

i'm also realizing i could have put more thought into the ordering of my selection

...hey foxtrot can you change the ordering of my selection (so that wide eyed is the first song and catchy is the second song and everything else is the same)

[foxtrot]

done. tbh though i haven't always been listening in order. sometimes yes but other times just whichever tracks strike me or i feel the urge to write some notes on.

nice idea to listen like a mini-playlist though.

[foxtrot]

Bit of a bump.

Only had 5 people share their thoughts on this week's selections!

Hope we can see a few last minute write ups. I personally love reading them.

Hopefully most of the 35 entrants are still keen to get here each week and share some thoughts! This weeks' selections feature a bunch of incredible tracks.

If you can't commit to full write ups just chuck in whatever thoughts you have about whatever tracks you can. That'll still be a nice way to keep the conversation happening and give those whose selections were picked a chance to see the forum's thoughts and ideas.

[dansemanatee]

I feel bad cause i had a lot to say about these ones that i havent gotten the chance to share yet, will soon tho. I had a whole thing written up for slothrope's and i was gonna wait to finish my write ups for jams' songs and i accidentally deleted all of it

i have admittedly probably TOO MUCH to say about meet the light child....

[time5sumranch]

Peacemaker is imo in the top 3 of PW era. Doesn’t try too hard the way some songs on that album can get gimmicky / saccharine

[nothingmastered]

Agg Report - I don't listen to Berserker enough. I love the droney spaced out sounds. Def vibe with this

Baby Day - I don't think I've heard this?? I've heard the live one many times, so this was fun and unexpected.

Footy - Yeah epic. Love to hear Deakin let loose. The huge drawn out synth notes towards the end are incredible, it's interesting how loud he mixed them

Blue Noses - Yep love it. Maybe my favorite moment in the Vice thing was Avey and Geo, right before performing this under that huge tree, both turning to each other simultaneously and nodding, then laughing.


The Outlaw - Man cool stuff but this album is hard for me to get into. The sounds and songs are super wild. I'll have my moment with it someday, the instrumentation from Jeremy and Deradoorian is amazing



Peacemaker - Solid tune. Not much to say other than I like it. The hocketing melody is nice

Rain in Cups - I love this one. Very uniquely moody that's uncharacteristic for them. I enjoy the creaky way Avey sings the "and suddenly" part. that remote performance of it is great too.


Ballad for reverend war character - A worthy rendition of a good song. Not big into Silver Jews stuff, but I enjoyed this


Meet the Light Child - Bewildering masterpiece of this era. 5:00 til the end is so good. The guitar makes me think tension is building to a big moment, but then it just hangs out out with these pleasant wandering piano melodies and the beatles-y backing vocals. Then splashing into that amazing hocketing ending

Sweet Road - This song reminds me how talented they are at making and writing. How did this happen

[Avey Tane]

foxtrot wrote:

Cheers dude. MTLC is special.

4 weeks in and halfway(ish) through this thing. Many all time greats that I've loved listening to but here are some songs that I never gave enough attention to that have grown in my esteem as a result of this activity:

There's An Arrow (thanks KidEatsKeyboard)
An An Angel (thanks MF Potus)
Jungle Heat (thanks roopn)
Cemeteries (thanks williswire)
Someday I'll Grow... (thanks organic cat)
Urban Creme (thanks Stan)
Peacemaker (thanks Slothrope)
Agg Report (thanks Jam)

This has been good fun.

[madameghostly]

alright, time for me to talk about jam's jams

AGG REPORT: i like it. sounds like waking up on the first morning of spring. i should listen to jane more

BABY DAY: i never realized how good the studio version of this song is before. it's kind of impressive how they took such a formless, tribal jam and gave it structure and managed to not suck all the energy out of it. okay maybe they sucked some of the energy out of it (why does it take a minute of whatever the hell that sample is and another half minute of bitcrushed drums for the song to actually get going) but it's still good. really love the harmonizing on the "chorus"

FOOTY: this song is so good it made me go back and relisten to all of sleep cycle just now because i had to remind myself that the rest of sleep cycle is also that good. the offbeat rhythm combined with deak hitting those high notes brings so much unfiltered energy to the track and i love it. very good soundtrack for me manically cleaning my keyboard at 4 in the morning (long story)

BLUE NOSES: between this, selection of a place, and my pre-existing love for man of oil, i'm starting to think MOTW is a masterpiece. the fact that such a long, sleepy song was selected for the first track and yet it still works so well is insane. very relaxing

THE OUTLAW: this is definitely the highlight of slasher flicks for me. from the proggy, almost spaghetti-western-y first section, to the stop and start rhythm of the second section that gets me headbanging every time, to the rousing chorus of THE OUTLAW IS THE FUTURE!! even the comedown at the end gives me chills. just a great showing from everyone involved

[dansemanatee]

time5sumranch wrote:

Peacemaker is imo in the top 3 of PW era. Doesn’t try too hard the way some songs on that album can get gimmicky / saccharine

The fact that summing the wretch made it on the album but peacemaker didn't is maybe the worst move of their whole career

[blindmowing]

Agg Report
I watched the film about Other Music the other day. Scott Mou’s one chill dude: imagine him in the same room as Noah. Glaciers of reflection. That whole Jane project was a perfect vibe. Roll the dice with your life. Eat a vortex.

Baby Day
Admission: not sure if I’ve ever heard the studio version until just now. Mixed very oddly (ie. Wonderfully). Love the textures. Like seeing a kitten get electrocuted.

The Outlaw
Slasher Flicks was a singular project and as time goes by I am more grateful for its existence. Between Jeremy’s drums, Angel’s keys and Dave’s guitars, all I’m hearing is basement bliss. Psychotic carnivalesque Halloween dance party.

Footy
I love that Deakin went OUT THERE for this one. Felt like very primal, early AC. An instant surprise when I heard this track for the first time. What a great vibe switch up in the midst of that album. This was the real spilling guts of 2016. Freaky forest midnight rager psych pop.

Blue Noses
Sleeping in a boat on a lake while the wind carries you from one side to the other.

Peacemaker
Sometimes you just have to stomach the fact even your favorite band is going to make something which just does not vibe with you at all.

Rain In Cups
Sometimes you just have to stomach the fact even your favorite band is going to make more than one song that you do not vibe with at all.

Ballad for Reverend War Character
Somewhere David is walking on the stars wiping his teary eyes with a handkerchief.

Meet the Light Child
The warped centerpiece, neon green haze nightmare in a demented jungle of wild vines.

Sweet Road
Infinite joy. One of the giggly-est minutes of your life. Crayon commercial. Mixtape staple.

[foxtrot]

blindmowing wrote:

Baby Day
Like seeing a kitten get electrocuted.

This is brilliant!

blindmowing wrote:

The Outlaw
Slasher Flicks was a singular project and as time goes by I am more grateful for its existence. Between Jeremy’s drums, Angel’s keys and Dave’s guitars, all I’m hearing is basement bliss. Psychotic carnivalesque Halloween dance party.

Agree that Slasher doesn't get enough love. I remember at the time we were all asking for something like this. People wanted 'psych rock' Avey and we got it.

blindmowing wrote:

Footy
I love that Deakin went OUT THERE for this one. Felt like very primal, early AC. An instant surprise when I heard this track for the first time. What a great vibe switch up in the midst of that album. This was the real spilling guts of 2016. Freaky forest midnight rager psych pop.

Yeh, the drums give that early AC vibe for sure.

blindmowing wrote:

Peacemaker
Sometimes you just have to stomach the fact even your favorite band is going to make something which just does not vibe with you at all.

Rain In Cups
Sometimes you just have to stomach the fact even your favorite band is going to make more than one song that you do not vibe with at all.

Surprised that this is the case. Both of them?! Agree that Rain In Cups' chorus is a little flat but otherwise great track with lots of interesting texture. And I agree with most on here that Peacemaker is gorgeous and really should have made the album.

madameghostly wrote:

BLUE NOSES: between this, selection of a place, and my pre-existing love for man of oil, i'm starting to think MOTW is a masterpiece. the fact that such a long, sleepy song was selected for the first track and yet it still works so well is insane. very relaxing

It is! I think I'm at the point where its my favourite EP these days (don't shoot FBK nerds).

Avey Tane wrote:

Gearing up to have my mind reconstructed by these apparently life changing remixes.

nothingmastered wrote:

Meet the Light Child - Bewildering masterpiece of this era. 5:00 til the end is so good. The guitar makes me think tension is building to a big moment, but then it just hangs out out with these pleasant wandering piano melodies and the beatles-y backing vocals. Then splashing into that amazing hocketing ending

Glad to see the love for this track this week. An absolute classic. Wish that hocketing ending went for another minute or two.

[foxtrot]

WEEK 5 DRAW:

In the home stretch... this week its...

Entries 33 and 15!

33. preacherben
Ms Secret, Home Free, Island Chase (Live at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 2010-11-02), Chocolate Girl (09 NPR), Prospect Hummer

15. NightlifeMingus
Covered in Frogs, Satin Orb Wash, Cuckoo Cuckoo, Cosplay, What Would I Want? Sky


Never heard Island Chase so keen for that. Looking forward to revisiting 09 Choc Girl.
Can't wait to really dig into Cuckoo Cuckoo (all time fav but want to really hone in on the arrangement). Another random ODDSAC choice too!

[time5sumranch]

Not a huge boot guy but i was in my very early AC fan days when I first heard the outlaw via some YouTube video and I remember loving those Avey yelps before the instrumental breakdowns. Maybe my first demoitis when the album version had much calmer “woos”. Think it’s one of the stronger tracks from slasher house, really felt like it executed the campy Halloween thing the album set out to do

[time5sumranch]

Satin orb wash made me turn off oddsac the first time I tried to watch, I was so scared lol

[blindmowing]

Great picks this week!!!

[NightlifeMingus]

wow! i feel like prom king. can’t wait to see what everyone has to say! preacherben’s list is great — love seeing some boots

i have been listening along every week but I’ve been so swamped with work i couldn’t find time to do any proper write ups, and every week that passes makes catching up more daunting haha. hopefully i can at least get a few bullet points out there

[blindmowing]

Chocolate Girl (09 NPR/9:30 Club)
Like love: inscrutable, mystifying, heart-dizzying, mind-aching, the want to express with words the (beyond) emotional impact of that which has made you Feel -- to the depths of your soul, on a cellular level feeling how each particle of blood is saturated with this Weight (a mix of joy, appreciation, awe, confusion, happiness, existentialism, eternity) -- and yet even after 10,000 words you will still feel hours and miles away from the place where you feel you've finally said what you even wanted to say. Because the feeling is infinite. It goes beyond words.

At their (and music's) best, which I'd argue is found in their live shows and albums between 2003-2009, they tap into a cosmic, transcendental creativity, psychedelic black holes, star dust synthesized into sound, a milky way glacier of noise sliding into an earthly reality channeled through four humans fidgeting with an assortment of instruments.

I'm at awe, transported, disintegrated and rebuilt into the shape of their music. Fused, in careful bliss and absolute focus, with their creations. While there are others artists who lead me to my emotional core and have led me through life as a sonic companion, there is only one band that has taken me so far from (and deep into) this reality because of the exactitude of how their aesthetics mesh with my ear's personal preferences. That is, I feel as though I was born to love AC, or as though they were created to make the exact music I would consider Perfect. Perfect like "Chocolate Girl," meaning it's not technically perfect, the beat meanders off, a word is missed, a frequency gets bitten in the leg, a trigger is forgotten, a melody arrives late, but Perfect because of its stumbling, raw, boundlessly energetic humanity reaching for the divine, being inspired by Mystery, and in its Curious quest towards Something it finds a truth within itself.

It's impossible to pick a favorite child, and so within this 03-09 period it's damn impossible to pick a favorite album, bootleg, song. As far as I'm concerned it's become one Experience. It's one long mind blowing journey of discovery, growth, change, revelation. And not to discount the earlier years of the 2000s which has its incredible moments, and of course bears the moment the incredible "Chocolate Girl" was originally released, but for me the period of 2003-2009 is untouchable, never again to be replicated Artistic Greatness. It is a Singular Experience for my world. Every person will have their own grails, their own ideas of what the Definitive Moments in (art/music) history were. Some will say "never say never" but I truly can't fathom the remote possibility of anything or anyone ever rediscovering whatever it was these four men discovered in the 2000s.

I've been absolutely babbling, but what I'm trying to get at is that upon hearing this song again (and you bet your buttocks I've let the rest of this boot run and I'll be listening to the whole show) it reminded me and prompted me to put a few words together about how special I found this particular era.

[blindmowing]

Island Chase
I still have gaps in my AC bootleg explorations. I feel like Deakin @ Glasslands is one that's been talked about a lot and I'm only hearing this song + boot for the first time. Fucking stunning. Instant jaw-dropping beauty. Deakin has this regal, majestic quality to his voice, it carries a spirit so unlike anything else heard in the AC-verse. The beat on this song is vintage AC -- that is: it's a raw, jagged, unpredictable, playful, drunken, simple little thing that enhances the song so much. I could listen to that beat for an hour just for the way it rumbles and bumbles along without much consistency at all. Especially because I'd consider his songs the most 'linear' and 'traditional' of the bunch structure-wise, and yet this song can't really be pinned down just by nature of the beat moving in curious ways.

Ms. Secret
This song is brilliant. The sound design is off the chain. The amount of SOUND IDEAS in this song is actually bonkers. Really didn't realize it until I listened to it in isolation of the rest of the songs, an album which is so immersive and acoustic, but this song has one thousand little musical ideas going on in it with all the little layers adding so much. It's got those creaking nautical field recordings at the beginning, an incredible pedal steel guitar (album is goated just for featuring it), an a A+ melody, and just a billion gajillion little sounds popping in and out. Unreal song. The little flute trill that comes in at 3:55 that is a monumental little musical idea used so understatedly and simply... then the very end having the guitars in rhythm with the creaking sounds. Just brilliant. Ah! This song has never hit me so hard. Need to listen to this song a thousand more times now. The flute part! Ahhh, between the flutes and the pedal steel and all the little sounds, well this might've just become my favorite solo Avey Tare song.

Home Free
Cum in the sack. Nuf said.

Prospect Hummer
Another perfect song from their perfect era. The 100% sugar sweetness and levity! Harmonies that will send you into the most loving daydreams. Vashti.

Cosplay



Panda dominated the 2010s. I get why he couldn't clear this sample, but this is the superior version. I mean... there is very little from the 80s more affecting to me than the a capella albums of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The depth of their voices enmeshed never ceases to impact me. So imagine LBM with Panda Bear singing...?! If someone was to pose this concept to me, I'd thirst desperately for this to become a reality.... AND IT DID.

[Angelic Chaos]

I still fully remember thinking "marijuana makes my day" had to be some sort of spot-on PB parody, but I loved that it turned out to be real

[Number 420]

Marijuana makes my day, marijuana makes me gay

[foxtrot]

Amazing wrote ups blind! Got me so pumped to listen to these tracks and gush about them myself.

[wilandhugs]

I don't think I'll be able to return to the back catalogue of this thread but one of the few good reddit threads was the one where the guy transcribed Cosplay syllable by syllable

[preacherben]

glad it could freebird my week. halfway thru a roundup of the previous weeks. this has been a lot of fun

[time5sumranch]

Cosplay is like a sea shanty but instead of being a song of beer or rum, it’s weed

[rohcti]

My mental energy is devoted to IIN and ever-changing life events this week... But I'ma try to write these up. Lol

preacherben

Ms Secret - a modern day classic. It's Avey a little out of his comfort zone in terms of mixing and country-esque sensibilities, but that's why it's such a masterpiece. Lyrically, it's one of my favorite songs. "Gotta stay up til the sunrise, it could be the last time that the earth makes it so." Pure whimsy mixed with the pains of the weight of adult concerns. "we'll talk of the old times, when nothing had angles and no one was cheating on us." I just imagine a warm summer's night where you can stay up and have deep conversations about life with your friends and you can remember this nostalgic moment for years to come. The bass guitar (I don't know what it is exactly, the bass) and steel guitar really push this song into S tier

Home Free - cute lil song. "See you around" is an adorable way to end Buoys. Feels like a relaxing massage after a long day at work. Like it's all gonna be okay

Island Chase - gonna have to listen to the rest of the boot. This song makes more sense to me than when I heard it last, but still seems like something I'll have to hear a few more times to get.

Chocolate Girl npr - pretty legit. Capturers a lot of the essence of what makes AC great.

Prospect Hummer - it's beautiful. Love Vashti's vocals and how they intertwine with Noah's. The cat part is cute and makes me feel things. The wah wah wahs are fantastic. Ends on a totally delicate note. Nice to revisit this one!

[foxtrot]

Good stuff rohcti! Love your thoughts on Ms Secret especially. Can’t wait to listen again with that in mind.

We’re all obviously distracted by IIN (holy flaming testicles of bison it’s good) but I am definitely going to listen to these 10 and write some thoughts this week. I swear upon Defeat’s existence on the album.