Collected Animals

Listened through Panda’s self titled, Danse, and Holland over the last couple of days! Here are some thoughts:

PB’s S/T
First time I listened to this one actually!!! I had listened to the first track a few times but never gave the rest a chance. Didn’t pay much attention to song names as I listened, so I can only talk vaguely about the experience. Some of those chord progressions, particularly towards the latter half of the album, are really nice, a real early sense of PB’s harmonic sensibilities. I also love hearing the emo influence, haha. The beats on a few of these songs were absolutely wild. Agree with what others have said, the latter half of the record is really good!!!

DANSE
I’ve listened to this one a few times, but never super closely. Panda’s drumming is so insane on this record. Skittery little movements that fixate on one part of the kit for a few seconds before suddenly jumping to another part. This listen through was the closest I’ve ever listened to the record, and listening more deeply made me enjoy it a lot more. I still find the looseness of some of the ideas on the record a little off putting, and wish the vocals were a little more upfront, but taking it at face value it’s a really strange and enjoyable listen. Big highlights for me included the bkg “come ons” in another white singer, the sudden stability of Essplode, the bkg synths surging with the gong sound in bad crumbs, the hockey at the end of meet the light child (that moment is insanely beautiful actually, one of the strongest compositional ideas on this record for me), the sort of Stgstv energy of throwing the round ball, and the secret groovy bop that is in the singing box. The little energy releases after the noodly keyboards when whoever in the background yells “Jacob!”, and then that fat little bass lick comes in hahaha too good!

HOLLIND
This is the only release of this first batch that I regularly listen to! Echoing others sentiments, really adore Pride and Fight and Forest Gospel and I see you pan. The rest I think is fun but less compositionally strong. Pride and Fight is a gorgeous one, the arc of it is so great, the way the chunk acoustic guitars come in and take over, and that synth comes in and chirps and bleats like a half bird half sheep hahaha. Few things will ever be as cool as the intro to Forest Gospel, that is just a fantastic moment.

Excited for the next round, and to keep reading everybody’s thoughts.

Much love!

oh yeah, actually posting my thoughts on the albums i listened to, good idea. i kinda had a late start so i've only gotten around to Spirit and Panda

Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished: what can i say about this album? it's a classic. i've given the individual tracks tons of listens, but it's been a while since i sat down and listened to the whole thing front to back (though that could describe a lot of albums i consider classics, to be fair). obviously an amazing experience, from the first "shhhhhhhh" to the last "my singing voice is". although, it didn't make my ears didn't hurt that much this time... am i getting old?

fun fact: for a while Someday I'll Grow to Be As Tall As the Giant was my favorite song on this album. yeah i don't know either. still a good song though

Panda Bear: this was my first full listen (i listened to Inside a Great Stadium and a Running Race once before on a whim and that was it) and damn, it was a lot better than i expected it to be. it's great for what it is, i just think it would've been nicer to hear just a little more vocals, as much as i can appreciate all the instrumentals. O Please Bring Her Back might be my favorite track

also it was super nice of the deak to make a record label just to release his friend's debut album. what an absolute bro

just popping in here to say how much i love danse manatee. the album is suffused with beautiful light to me. i love how subtle it is, how hypnotic songs like living toys and ahh good country are, how unexpectedly beautiful meet the light child and throwing the round ball and lablakely dress are.

years of being an AC superfan has desensitized me in some sense to the magic and mystery i felt when discovering these albums as a teenager, but that magic is very much still there in spirit, danse, and hollinndagain. these albums still give me chills like nothing else. such a strange and wonderful time.

I couldn't have put this better. Still such a rare, elusive, evergreen wonder and mystery to these records. In many ways, these and Ark represent peak AC.

Danse Manatee: good old green album. this thing contains multitudes. it's their worst album. it's their best album. it sounds like shit. it sounds awe-inspiringly gorgeous. it's exactly like spirit. it's nothing like spirit. it has meet the light child on it. FUCKING MEET THE LIGHT CHILD!

in case you couldn't tell, my feelings on danse manatee are complicated, but overall, i'd have to say i'm very glad it exists, and if i had to sum it up in a single word, that word would probably be

JACOB

bonus (i.e. no one asked me to do this one but i'm doing it anyway)
Padington Band: good to know that even in high school these guys were making bangers. yes, it doesn't sound much like anything the boys have made since, but as it stands, it's a very good little lo-fi indie rock EP. i can definitely think of much worse ways to spend 11 minutes

i guess i should actually try getting into pavement some time, huh?

good write up.

I've been sheepish about re-listening to any of these because for some reason I just really don't revisit the first 4-5ish albums. Idk why exactly. It's like... triggering to think about. I mean I know if I put it on I'd love it and they'd all sound great and id rediscover stuff, but um. Idk.... I think of them as something I can only listen to when I'm in highschool. And I am not anymore, for a while.

it is sacred music, truly. I think I did put In the Singing Box on the other day randomly, but like was just playing it thru MacBook speakers. so very non committal. Maybe I'll come around this weekend. Can my brain/heart even go there anymore tho? who knows..

Maybe a too personal question soon please ignore if so, but is it association or the actual music? I can understand the latter, there's something so 'untouched' about their early music that's like looking in on something private, at times. It seems to have been made all for them and their own experiences, and very cathartically so. Almost too raw in parts, emotionally. I actually miss that, which is why I primarily align with their live stuff over the studio, because they still manage to tap into that well of emotion.

I mean its both association and the actual music I think. Idk its weird cuz I got to that stuff after MPP/SJ which were contemporary to me getting into them, but then going backwards in the discog was quite an experience, in like summer of '09 specifically.

Post MPP stuff feels very functional in that I can throw it on, not worry about high frequencies attacking me, play it around normies and not have this overly nostalgic trip about it and just chill.

but the old stuff is just drenched in nostalgia. Not like.... chill wave nostalgia, but like... ya associations, and literally being pretty young when I jammed it a lot.

And maybe cuz I mostly listened to it in HS and only checked in from time to time after that whereas post Sung Tongs stuff has always seemed rife to throw on is what keeps it hermetically sealed in my mind. or sumn


Also to go a little further, I think a part of me wishes Spirit was mixed different. like is that happening? I can picture it being this widely accept masterpiece accept for the kinda harsh mix. Thats what keeps it niche and maybe thats a good thing? But like.... I wanna play Bat You'll Fly around my fuggin family on xmas morning man.

I think, songs like la rapet, april and da phantom and chocolate girl deserve better mixes, because they're pretty dynamic and complex progressive pop songs that have a lot going on. Songs like everyone whistling, spirit they vanished, untitled and someday i'll grow as tall fit the way the album is mixed in my opinion

wait also part of the problem is I don't currently own anything pre-Feels, WHOOPS.

Like if I had it on an iTunes 7,000 years ago well its long gone. And they're too sacred to stream. And pirating would be naughty. So I think I just need to like... purchase them. digitally (from Bandcamp?)

Then I can light some candles, blaze and let those frequencies wash over me. Busy weekend, but I'll pencil it in.

PB’s S/T
The beats on a few of these songs were absolutely wild. Agree with what others have said, the latter half of the record is really good!!!

Yeh, last 4 tracks or so really elevated it. Just gets a bit lost in the middle. Hasn't had nearly as many spins as the others this week but still been nice to revisit it.

DANSE
I’ve listened to this one a few times, but never super closely. Panda’s drumming is so insane on this record. Skittery little movements that fixate on one part of the kit for a few seconds before suddenly jumping to another part. This listen through was the closest I’ve ever listened to the record, and listening more deeply made me enjoy it a lot more. I still find the looseness of some of the ideas on the record a little off putting, and wish the vocals were a little more upfront, but taking it at face value it’s a really strange and enjoyable listen. Big highlights for me included the bkg “come ons” in another white singer, the sudden stability of Essplode, the bkg synths surging with the gong sound in bad crumbs, the hockey at the end of meet the light child (that moment is insanely beautiful actually, one of the strongest compositional ideas on this record for me), the sort of Stgstv energy of throwing the round ball, and the secret groovy bop that is in the singing box. The little energy releases after the noodly keyboards when whoever in the background yells “Jacob!”, and then that fat little bass lick comes in hahaha too good!

I absolutely love Panda's drumming on this album. People talk a lot about Spirit but I think this album has my favourite drumming in this early period.

I fucking love that people keeping saying that they've had some of their best/closest listens to some of these records over the last week.

The end of Meet The Light Child is just one of their all time greatest moments.

So glad this album seems to have grown in your esteem. It is such a messy, gnarly little piece of uninhibited genius.

HOLLIND
This is the only release of this first batch that I regularly listen to! Echoing others sentiments, really adore Pride and Fight and Forest Gospel and I see you pan. The rest I think is fun but less compositionally strong. Pride and Fight is a gorgeous one, the arc of it is so great, the way the chunk acoustic guitars come in and take over, and that synth comes in and chirps and bleats like a half bird half sheep hahaha. Few things will ever be as cool as the intro to Forest Gospel, that is just a fantastic moment.

Rare that there is such consensus on an AC release I reckon. We all seem to see this album in very similar ways.

fun fact: for a while Someday I'll Grow to Be As Tall As the Giant was my favorite song on this album. yeah i don't know either. still a good song though

dude, people fucking love this song. no surprise at all that it was a favourite!

Panda Bear: this was my first full listen (i listened to Inside a Great Stadium and a Running Race once before on a whim and that was it) and damn, it was a lot better than i expected it to be. it's great for what it is, i just think it would've been nicer to hear just a little more vocals, as much as i can appreciate all the instrumentals. O Please Bring Her Back might be my favorite track

Interesting. I feel the opposite. That's probably my least favourite track and I think the instrumental pieces are some the parts that work the best!

Danse Manatee: good old green album. this thing contains multitudes. it's their worst album. it's their best album. it sounds like shit. it sounds awe-inspiringly gorgeous. it's exactly like spirit. it's nothing like spirit. it has meet the light child on it. FUCKING MEET THE LIGHT CHILD!

in case you couldn't tell, my feelings on danse manatee are complicated, but overall, i'd have to say i'm very glad it exists, and if i had to sum it up in a single word, that word would probably be

JACOB

Ha! Yeh, I can see how you'd find it that way. It's kind of rips at you with these crude poles. All part of the unbridled raw energy for me.

Padington Band: good to know that even in high school these guys were making bangers. yes, it doesn't sound much like anything the boys have made since, but as it stands, it's a very good little lo-fi indie rock EP. i can definitely think of much worse ways to spend 11 minutes

i guess i should actually try getting into pavement some time, huh?

Pavement are EONS better than this. Listen to Wowee Zowee please. I beg you.

speen wrote:

just popping in here to say how much i love danse manatee. the album is suffused with beautiful light to me. i love how subtle it is, how hypnotic songs like living toys and ahh good country are, how unexpectedly beautiful meet the light child and throwing the round ball and lablakely dress are.

years of being an AC superfan has desensitized me in some sense to the magic and mystery i felt when discovering these albums as a teenager, but that magic is very much still there in spirit, danse, and hollinndagain. these albums still give me chills like nothing else. such a strange and wonderful time.

I couldn't have put this better. Still such a rare, elusive, evergreen wonder and mystery to these records. In many ways, these and Ark represent peak AC.

Agree wholeheartedly. That said, I think what has made them the all time greatest for me is how they managed to continue to harness that evergreen wonder in later albums. Adding new elements without losing the mystery and magic.

I've been sheepish about re-listening to any of these because for some reason I just really don't revisit the first 4-5ish albums. Idk why exactly. It's like... triggering to think about. I mean I know if I put it on I'd love it and they'd all sound great and id rediscover stuff, but um. Idk.... I think of them as something I can only listen to when I'm in highschool. And I am not anymore, for a while.

it is sacred music, truly. I think I did put In the Singing Box on the other day randomly, but like was just playing it thru MacBook speakers. so very non committal. Maybe I'll come around this weekend. Can my brain/heart even go there anymore tho? who knows..

Kinda replying to all your posts/thoughts on this dio.

I wonder if this era and the time you got into it is tied up in some other memories/life events that you don't want to revisit? I think from a purely musical/sonic perspective there is so much joy to be found and so much to pick apart in this era I'd be sad to let it go or write it off. It is exactly BECAUSE I can't put these albums on in front of anyone else that I savour them. They're so intimate and personal. So unique to me and my relationship with them. I have irl friends who can I listen to and love SJ with. Not so these records. They're just for me (slash us).

Definitely blaze and submit to these albums. I'm hoping it will unlock a whole new kind of magic for you.

I think yr right man, I'm gonna do it... Still not sure if it's all that deep but ya there's a lil of that maybe. Also a healthy amount of my combined laziness re procuring proper mp3s along with my intense reverence of the LPs. I need the vinyl but it's cool.

Hope you love it.

I am so fucking pumped for Campfire and Ark. Young Prayer will be sweet too. But yeh, already planning some special listens for Campfire and Ark. Going to head to a nearby pine forest (I'm in Australia so mostly bush/eucalyptus). The big conifers will be perfect.

Hollinndagain: POW! i didn't remember much about this one, other than Forest Gospel being my go-to AC track for when i wanted some super intense chaos right away, so i was a bit surprised by how weirdly soothing the slow burns of I See You Pan and Pride and Fight were. very good start to the album along with Forest Gospel

unfortunately, the placement of the WFMU session at the start makes the album a bit frontloaded in my eyes. There's an Arrow kind of passed me by without me giving much thought to it, and while this version of Lablakely Dress might just be better than the one on Danse, the last two tracks also didn't do much for me

still, i had a great time re-visiting it, and i wish more bands would do the "live album but almost all the songs are live-only songs" thing. coughthemountaingoatscough

bonus 2
(the b-side of) 2 Nights: very much the same vibes as Hollinndagain, obviously, though it feels a bit looser. i like the way the radio static becomes almost intertwined with the ambient soundscapes at times. also i still think it's funny how we used to only have part of this performance and then one day in the middle of quarantine the boys were like "oh hey here's the rest of it"

bonus 2 1/2
Wowee Zowee: damn foxtrot you were right this IS eons better than Padington Band

Hollinndagain: POW! i didn't remember much about this one, other than Forest Gospel being my go-to AC track for when i wanted some super intense chaos right away, so i was a bit surprised by how weirdly soothing the slow burns of I See You Pan and Pride and Fight were. very good start to the album along with Forest Gospel

unfortunately, the placement of the WFMU session at the start makes the album a bit frontloaded in my eyes. There's an Arrow kind of passed me by without me giving much thought to it, and while this version of Lablakely Dress might just be better than the one on Danse, the last two tracks also didn't do much for me

still, i had a great time re-visiting it, and i wish more bands would do the "live album but almost all the songs are live-only songs" thing. coughthemountaingoatscough

bonus 2
(the b-side of) 2 Nights: very much the same vibes as Hollinndagain, obviously, though it feels a bit looser. i like the way the radio static becomes almost intertwined with the ambient soundscapes at times. also i still think it's funny how we used to only have part of this performance and then one day in the middle of quarantine the boys were like "oh hey here's the rest of it"

bonus 2 1/2
Wowee Zowee: damn foxtrot you were right this IS eons better than Padington Band

Slanted and Enchanted is the shit. I never listened to Paddington but if I was 15 when that came out I'd definitely try to mimic it, lol.

crooked rain is the best pavement album! also brighten the corners and terror twilight are super underrated compared to the first three

we gonna do crack box as part of this relisten?

wow, really heard noahs vocals on lablakey this time. with the glitchy pitched up effect. gorge

People can go for it with live releases/boots. I just haven’t included them on the schedule (Hollinndagain being the exception because it’s basically like an album)

Running through the discography methodically from the beginning has made it easy to put on the shoes of one who is actually moving through time from 1999 onwards, witnessing the growth and development of AC. So it goes without saying that stepping into Campfire Songs after week 1’s noise blasts comes as a bit of a shock.

I just finished my first listen of Campfire Songs. I know it’s early, but being in Vancouver we don’t get many sunny days, and I had to listen to Campfire Songs on a sunny day, so I didn’t want to take my chances waiting until tomorrow. And hey, it’s Friday in Australia, so I think I’m good anyway!

“Queen In My Pictures” is a hypnotic mood-setter which unwinds gloriously into “Doggy” which is a transcendent transition and my favorite moment on the record. I guess “Doggy” is the ‘pop song’ of Campfire Songs, if there could be such a thing. It’s a jam, and it’s a wondrous 4.5 minutes.

“Two Corvettes” finishes off side A with some of the loudest guitar playing they do on the record. It’s a bit too prickly for me, but I can appreciate it as a climax to the first half.

The B-side’s two 11-minute songs are more vibey, mysterious and quiet. The boys are seemingly spending as much time stopping to listen to the crickets as they are playing quietly, so as to not to disturb the peace. I’m not sure in what order they recorded these, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re placed on the album in the order they played them, and by “Moo Rah Rah Rain” it’s already pitch black and most folks have gone to bed.

Kria Brekkan said the boys never recorded their albums sober until Strawberry Jam, so I can assume they’re on some grass or some psychedelic sedative to zone out into wonderland as they pick away at their strings. It’s hard to compare this to the rest of their records. This album stands distinctly in their catalog as its function and aim is different than the rest of their more sonically adventurous and playful albums. This is really just a campfire companion, a mood album, acoustic guitars and stream of consciousness lyrics. All the rain dripping into the corners of these songs. The bugs crawling down their vocal chords. Dreams softly falling into the sleepy ponds of your mind. It’s a careful psychedelic trip through the milky way at breakfast time.

^ they recorded campfire songs in a single take on a porch in an afternoon, if i remember correctly

Just getting in my Hollinndagain thoughts before the week is up. Typed them up while having a bath. Forgive any punctuation/spelling errors. Excited for what next week brings!

I had a general idea of how I was going to write about this record before I even relistened to it. I was gonna describe how nasty and nightmarish it is. How it takes all the noisy elements from Danse and creates something even more stomach churching with them. But it turns out Hollinddagain isn’t like that at all. This last week I’ve actually found it to be quite the opposite. Of course, the album has its noisy moments, but overall I found it to be incredibly spiritual and otherworldly listen. Bordering on mystical.

Behind all the fuzz and distortion, there is a real feeling of positivity and unity between the three members of the band. Totally at one with each other and the sounds they’re creating. The songs don’t feel like as simple as being about human lives and human problems. They feel bigger than that. They’re about the earth and everything surrounding it. I could just visual a purple musical mist rising emanating from the band’s interments and floating off into the sky. Transporting these ethereal tracks off to a place far away from here.

I love that AnCo’s sound is ever changing, but it’s a shame that eras of the band have been left behind and will never return. I didn’t see AnCo perform in person during this incarnation (because I was five), but this live album is a great replacement. Every freaky bang, scratch and beep is captured flawlessly, with just enough rough around the fidelity’s edges to make this album sound like a real artefact. Something that could be thousands of years old and discovered in a distant land.

Gotta say, this album really shot up in my rankings on this listen. I’ve always liked it, but never fully clicked with it like I have during the last few days. This one is essential.

I love that AnCo’s sound is ever changing, but it’s a shame that eras of the band have been left behind and will never return. I didn’t see AnCo perform in person during this incarnation (because I was five), but this live album is a great replacement.

so thankful there are some videos of performances from this era in the live thread

Kria Brekkan said the boys never recorded their albums sober until Strawberry Jam.

Wtf i guess Avey was lying. In https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rASISwur9gs he says they never played live or were in the studio high.

maybe they were just drunk then

blindmowing wrote:

Kria Brekkan said the boys never recorded their albums sober until Strawberry Jam.

Wtf i guess Avey was lying. In https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rASISwur9gs he says they never played live or were in the studio high.

i mean, that's her take...she obviously wasn't around for recording sessions other than Feels

[Dave] had this vision of Feels sounding like a crystal palace. I spent a month with them recording my piano parts, which I did myself in the evenings.

However, I wasn´t there in the mixing. And when you got a bunch of young, stoned musicians, each one has enough trouble with keeping the vision of their own parts. I don't think what I contributed actually survived so well in the mixing process, although the piano is there.

But I fully understand, I´ve gone through the same experience of learning about focus and mixing. And I enjoyed the time we spent making it and the music so much I never cared about the result; though now, I feel like if I ever put that much work into something again, I'd follow it through until the end. As for Animal Collective, I think that after that record they started to work totally sober when in the studio.

It’s Friday here (Australia) so officially time to kick off week 2!

Campfire Songs
Ark
Young Prayer
Blasted

Ark is where the band’s insurmountable glory run begins for me. The greatest run of consecutive albums ever. Five perfect albums in a row. And this is the first. Can’t wait.

Will send some more thoughts/replies later in the day.

Stay rad.

Ark is where the band’s insurmountable glory run begins for me. The greatest run of consecutive albums ever. Five perfect albums in a row. And this is the first.
.

amen brother

i've listened to "Native Belle" 5 times in a row and haven't been able to get on with the rest of the album cuz i just keep having to hit the "replay that shit again" button

personally I think they have an 8-album run starting with Spirit, especially after Danse was recently solidified in my mind as another masterpiece

I've always loved Campfire Songs so much, it's a totally unique entry into their catalog with its heavenly lullabies. I've used it to help myself fall asleep so many nights, it's just so gentle and calming (especially with the sound of rain falling in the background). Queen in my Pictures I think is really underrated, it's got this unique textural ambience that I can't even describe. That transition to Doggy is perfection, and Doggy is such a simple but sad song that I cry thinking about my own dog almost every time I listen. I can vividly picture one of those children's cartoons in an early animation style playing in my head depicting the two corvettes colliding as it happens in the song. Moo Rah is the least immediate and took me the longest to get into but I've since come around to its weightless, abstract qualities, and De Soto De Son is just such a beautiful and forlorn way of closing the album. really wish there was more music that sounded like Campfire Songs

I had a general idea of how I was going to write about this record before I even relistened to it. I was gonna describe how nasty and nightmarish it is. How it takes all the noisy elements from Danse and creates something even more stomach churching with them. But it turns out Hollinddagain isn’t like that at all. This last week I’ve actually found it to be quite the opposite. Of course, the album has its noisy moments, but overall I found it to be incredibly spiritual and otherworldly listen. Bordering on mystical.

Definitely relate to the mystical vibe. Something they perfected on Ark. But I do still see it as having this darkness and tension to it. Awesome that relistening helped you see it in a new light.

Behind all the fuzz and distortion, there is a real feeling of positivity and unity between the three members of the band. Totally at one with each other and the sounds they’re creating. The songs don’t feel like as simple as being about human lives and human problems. They feel bigger than that. They’re about the earth and everything surrounding it. I could just visual a purple musical mist rising emanating from the band’s interments and floating off into the sky. Transporting these ethereal tracks off to a place far away from here.

Ha! Cool visual! I think blindmowing said something about god tearing clouds apart. That image pops into my head when I hear the noise at the start of I See You Pan now. I can imagine that purple mist in There's An Arrow.

I love that AnCo’s sound is ever changing, but it’s a shame that eras of the band have been left behind and will never return. I didn’t see AnCo perform in person during this incarnation (because I was five), but this live album is a great replacement. Every freaky bang, scratch and beep is captured flawlessly, with just enough rough around the fidelity’s edges to make this album sound like a real artefact. Something that could be thousands of years old and discovered in a distant land.

Gotta say, this album really shot up in my rankings on this listen. I’ve always liked it, but never fully clicked with it like I have during the last few days. This one is essential.

Yeh, it definitely rose in my esteem too. Last two tracks are still inessential for me but the rest is brilliant.

Running through the discography methodically from the beginning has made it easy to put on the shoes of one who is actually moving through time from 1999 onwards, witnessing the growth and development of AC. So it goes without saying that stepping into Campfire Songs after week 1’s noise blasts comes as a bit of a shock.

I love this aspect of this whole schedule thing. I really feel like I'm experiencing the whole progression all over again. And because I'm not listening to anything that hasn't already been 'released' (on the schedule) it is like that is the band's entire output at that point. But I'm still able to anticipate what is coming. It's a lot of fun. Totally agree, its crazy to think that they went from Danse and Hollinnd to something like Campfire. Gives the song writing of something like Doggy a whole different context too. They went from these total free form noise jams to Dave writing a 'proper' song in no time.

I just finished my first listen of Campfire Songs. I know it’s early, but being in Vancouver we don’t get many sunny days, and I had to listen to Campfire Songs on a sunny day, so I didn’t want to take my chances waiting until tomorrow. And hey, it’s Friday in Australia, so I think I’m good anyway!

How fucking dare you.

“Queen In My Pictures” is a hypnotic mood-setter which unwinds gloriously into “Doggy” which is a transcendent transition and my favorite moment on the record. I guess “Doggy” is the ‘pop song’ of Campfire Songs, if there could be such a thing. It’s a jam, and it’s a wondrous 4.5 minutes.

“Two Corvettes” finishes off side A with some of the loudest guitar playing they do on the record. It’s a bit too prickly for me, but I can appreciate it as a climax to the first half.

The B-side’s two 11-minute songs are more vibey, mysterious and quiet. The boys are seemingly spending as much time stopping to listen to the crickets as they are playing quietly, so as to not to disturb the peace. I’m not sure in what order they recorded these, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re placed on the album in the order they played them, and by “Moo Rah Rah Rain” it’s already pitch black and most folks have gone to bed.

It was all one take. They played through it a couple of times, but each time the whole album start to finish. Then picked their favourite 'take' and added a few extra field recordings.

This is really just a campfire companion, a mood album, acoustic guitars and stream of consciousness lyrics. All the rain dripping into the corners of these songs. The bugs crawling down their vocal chords. Dreams softly falling into the sleepy ponds of your mind. It’s a careful psychedelic trip through the milky way at breakfast time.

I'm curious to see how some of these unfurl a bit and reveal themselves with some more listens through the week. How many times have you listened to Campfire Songs before? I see it as a really fundamental album. Also, the lyrics are quite specific here. Stories about loss. It's a really sad album in a lot of ways. Queen about growing apart from someone, Doggy about grieving a pet, Two Corvettes about a fatal car accident, Moo Rah about loss of livelihood, and De Soto about loss of land etc as a result of colonialization. I think listening to this after last week its easy to have it drift by. But there is a lot of amazing stuff to unpack here. Very keen to hear your thoughts with further listens through the week!

i've listened to campfire songs a hundred times (most of those listens probably between 2007-2010, and probably not a single time in the past 5 years) but never for the lyrics. my brain doesn't usually "go there" but from the pieces i picked up, that's kind of the vibe i got...clearly i'm wrong judging by some of the comments here!

excited to dig into it a lot this week and try to listen to the lyrics -- or at least read the lyric booklet... i guess it makes sense they'd want to put the lyrics in the album package if they're really personal. if i remember correctly though, the font is kind of hard to read...

personally I think they have an 8-album run starting with Spirit, especially after Danse was recently solidified in my mind as another masterpiece

For me, Spirit, Danse and Campfire are 4.5 stars (near masterpiece). Ark is the first 5 star album for me. Though the albums I give 5 stars have a lot to do with personal connection/history I guess.

I've always loved Campfire Songs so much, it's a totally unique entry into their catalog with its heavenly lullabies. I've used it to help myself fall asleep so many nights, it's just so gentle and calming (especially with the sound of rain falling in the background). Queen in my Pictures I think is really underrated, it's got this unique textural ambience that I can't even describe. That transition to Doggy is perfection, and Doggy is such a simple but sad song that I cry thinking about my own dog almost every time I listen. I can vividly picture one of those children's cartoons in an early animation style playing in my head depicting the two corvettes colliding as it happens in the song. Moo Rah is the least immediate and took me the longest to get into but I've since come around to its weightless, abstract qualities, and De Soto De Son is just such a beautiful and forlorn way of closing the album. really wish there was more music that sounded like Campfire Songs

Totally agree. Meeting of the Waters kinda hints at the same vibe but I'd love them to one day do another one take, acoustic, all new material, live album in the outdoors.

i've listened to campfire songs a hundred times (most of those listens probably between 2007-2010, and probably not a single time in the past 5 years) but never for the lyrics. my brain doesn't usually "go there" but from the pieces i picked up, that's kind of the vibe i got...clearly i'm wrong judging by some of the comments here!

excited to dig into it a lot this week and try to listen to the lyrics -- or at least read the lyric booklet... i guess it makes sense they'd want to put the lyrics in the album package if they're really personal. if i remember correctly though, the font is kind of hard to read...

Yeh, I think in some ways the feeling and the atmosphere that the album creates is so kind of airy and soothing that the lyrics or deeper emotionality of the album can kind of drift past.

Alright, Campfire Songs. I'm so happy to be revisiting this one. Has always been a quiet favourite. That said, this whole thing is kinda reminding me that every one of their albums has things I bloody love about it.

From the very first moments where you hear the rain, the insects and then the gently droning acoustic strums, this album sets a perfect mood. You are literally on the porch with them from the very first moments. I can feel the dampness of the air and the ground. I can see the water dripping from the tree branches. I can feel the coolness of the chair I’m sitting on, exposed to the elements.

Queen In My Pictures is one of their best droney tracks. I adore the way their voices all gently weave their way into the song. Wordless and pure. Three friends lost in the feeling of the elements and the purity of the sounds. I love the rustling footsteps that come in around 3:20, while Panda gets just a little more free in his wordless vocalisations. Moving up and down with his heavenly falsetto, like he will all over Young Prayer. The opening of this album is just serenity captured. It is utterly sublime. I could easily lose myself in another 4 minutes of this aimless gorgeousness. But Dave chimes in and gives the song some form. Deaks and Panda beginning to frame their voices around Avey rather than all three floating, nebulous around each other. I love the way one of the guitars starts to play these less droning and more traditional little folky fills. Each repetition of the ‘hallucinating Queen’ line slowly, almost imperceptibly growing the song’s dynamics. Strums more energetic, backing vocals more varied. It sits beautifully with the developing theme of this woman who has changed and grown apart from the people around her. Classic ‘yeh yeh yeh’ AC chanty, staccato vocals start to signal the transition into Doggy. I adore the way they do this. One of my favourite motifs of theirs. I love the way things start to build momentum, the strumming morphing into the glorious Doggy.

Doggy - Definitely one of their most heartbreaking songs. The line ‘I brought you your dinner’ is the most heart rending for me. Just the image of him standing there holding the food bowl but the dog is no longer with him. I love how Dave sounds slightly more distant in this song too. Mirroring the feeling of grief. The sense of loneliness. The rain gets heavier. Fucking perfect. Its almost like nature and AC are so in tune with each other that the natural elements are starting to contribute their own parts to the arrangement. The bird that calls out during the end part of the chorus, slotting perfectly amongst the gently rattling percussion. The bridge section is just a stunning vocal passage. Avey’s ‘ang neng neng neng neng’ and Panda’s heavenly descending ‘Ahhhh ahhhhh’ line. I’ve always loved the way the plane flies past, gently rumbling by through the rain, right at the moment the song breaks down and moves into Two Corvettes. Another moment of beautiful serendipity on an album full of them.

The way the three guitars work together is particularly gorgeous at the start of Two Corvettes. One picking those sharp notes, the other two providing these subtle textural highlights. The chorus of this one is a great example of Avey, Panda and Deakin all harmonising together. Early days! When this song fades into nothing then comes back with the big rattling drone of strumming it’s really affecting. I imagine this as the car crash moment. This overwhleming swell of communal feeling. The tragedy of it. An album highlight for me is the way that section gives way to the whispered ‘ha, hey, ho, heh’ intro to Moo Rah Rah Rain.

The enchanting, mysterious Moo Rah Rah Rain is my favourite track on this album. It’s the Meet The Light Child of Campfire Songs for me. I know people will mention De Soto De Sun (also amazing) and obviously Doggy, but this one perfectly captures the feeling of this album. I mean, the rain references in the lyrics for one. It is literally a song trying to bring on rain. It’s like the boys have magic powers. As they sing about a farm/family in desperate need of rain, the sounds of it fill the interstices of the song. Those hushed intro vocals. The ebbing and flowing of the guitar strums (quintessential AC right there). The rain pouring down. I fucking love the way the field recordings peek through the song in this track in particular. The moments of pause that reveal a bird in the distance or the wind whipping into the mini-disc mics. Eerie, unidentifiable sounds that barely peek through. The boys calling out in the woods. The chorus here is gorgeous too. Panda’s descending ‘rehhhhhh-eh-eh-ainnn’.

Also: ‘Connnngregaaaaaaaate’. That moment IS this album. All three of them sharing that word. On that porch.

I love how they subtlety shift the melody higher in the second chorus. Giving the ‘rain’ more of the spotlight. I love the flamenco style guitar part that comes in during the ‘taking care of business’ section at the end. Giving things this gentle lift. This little moment of levity or reprieve. Like the rain might have finally come. I love how this song just allows so much space for the atmosphere to soak in. Doggy is a great song, but where it races through a tune in order to convey a feeling, Moo Rah Rah Rain allows the location and the space the boys are in to convey the feels. The song seems to exist in support of the atmosphere, location, and connection to place. That’s what makes it the ultimate Campfire Songs track for me.

De Soto De Son is obviously brilliant. That main picked riff and the sweet strums (feels like a little Bees teaser) that buoy it. So uplifting yet still so serene. It’s a moment of sheer joy and contentment on a mostly quite mournful album. Even the birds in the field recordings are chirpier here. Suddenly the rain increases again and the thunder rumbles in the distance. No violent claps of thunder. Just gentle rumbles. Nature’s backing vocals. The harmonies in the verses are so lovely. I particularly love the way it feels when they sing ‘the bodies of our elders’ part. I so vividly see the wet earth in front of them. The cyclical nature of life. Our ancestors always beneath us. Their bodies nourishing the earth that supports our future. One of my favourite little details is the start of the middle section (around 5 mins in) when one of them starts tapping on their knee and Dave sings that ‘the sky has wings’. It’s too slappy and not punchy enough for a hand clap. Just this casual knee tapping. It’s so genuine and wholesome. And then as it slowly loses its composure, the song’s ‘death takes time’ section swelling up, the wind mirrors the turmoil by charging into the mics again. I adore how the final moments of the album include almost all the key ingredients. You hear the guitars gently fading away, the cool little ‘yeh-a ah-yeh-a’ vocals, the rain, one more plane passing by and a final bird call.

Just wanna add that I've been Danse obsessed as of late-- the album is so fucking cerebral. That space between awareness and total subconsciousness, like memories of being a 3 year old. Everything feels so intentionally unintentionally; Panda's drumming basically slips like every note is a mistake he is perpetually correcting. Even the way the vinyl refers to sides a and b with that weird manatee drawing, and then 2 of them for side b-- it feels like an alien attempt at quantization. The 'Dark side of the Moon' of , like, the shadow people that evolved alongside us.

I also found out my copy is a little too big and if I try to close my turntable case it scrapes against the walls. what the hell fatcat

I wanna try to find the time to do an actual write up on an album eventually, and I feel like I have a lot to say for Ark. Maybe I will do one soon

Campfire songs write up was just fantastic Foxy. Love it. About to dive into Ark, and listen to the live shows we know of. On some days, I sincerely think it is the best Animal Collective album.

i love campfire songs dearly and want a vinyl release like you don't even know

Just wanna add that I've been Danse obsessed as of late-- the album is so fucking cerebral. That space between awareness and total subconsciousness, like memories of being a 3 year old. Everything feels so intentionally unintentionally; Panda's drumming basically slips like every note is a mistake he is perpetually correcting. Even the way the vinyl refers to sides a and b with that weird manatee drawing, and then 2 of them for side b-- it feels like an alien attempt at quantization. The 'Dark side of the Moon' of , like, the shadow people that evolved alongside us.

I also found out my copy is a little too big and if I try to close my turntable case it scrapes against the walls. what the hell fatcat

I wanna try to find the time to do an actual write up on an album eventually, and I feel like I have a lot to say for Ark. Maybe I will do one soon

Love the kind of uncanny valley vibes. Something not quite right. I've mentioned a few times that I see Danse as this ungainly creature emerging from the primordial muck and I think your ideas here fit really well with that. I fucking love the idea of the "shadow people that evolved alongside us".

I can't wait to hear people's thoughts on Ark. Spoilers - I actually cheated slightly and listened to Ark last night (Thursday night here). I had the opportunity to get into a forest and listen and I couldn't pass it up. I'm currently just editing my notes from when I got home. It was fucking special.

Campfire songs write up was just fantastic Foxy. Love it. About to dive into Ark, and listen to the live shows we know of. On some days, I sincerely think it is the best Animal Collective album.

Fuck yes. Dive deep my friend. Looking forward to everyone's thoughts/experiences.

Straight out of the gates, I just had my greatest ever listen to Ark. Actually among my favourite listening experiences ever.

I decided to head up into this pine forest that sits on the side of a ridge with spectacular views at the top. As I drove up in silence storm clouds started sweeping in. I went into the reserve deep enough to be far from any houses or anything before I pressed play.

As Native Belle started to creep in the huge pine trees loomed over me and the storm clouds cloaked them in a deeper and deeper grey. I had this tremendous sense of welcome foreboding, the impending storm. I wanted it. This was going to be memorable.

The forest was full of fallen trees and snapped branches after a lot of recent rain and inclement weather. I tracked through the forest floor as Native Belle rang out, occasionally thrashing my arms or head around to the explosive parts of the song. Totally alone. Just me and the forest, communing. Thunder started rumbling and I was literally tingling. This was fucking epic.

As Hey Light began the rain started to fall. Not hard enough to worry me. Just big beautiful drops. The forest floor had that earthy wet smell. I felt like an animal. Wild and uninhibited. As the quiet chant at the end came in, I stopped walking and just stood and enjoyed the rain and the moment.

Infant Dressing Table arrived and I explored and admired all the little details. In my surroundings and in the song. I felt the forest creatures making all those sounds. As I explored, I stumbled upon this strange rock formation that was clearly made by someone. Not quite a fire pit or obvious gathering place. It had this small, rusty metal box embedded in one side of it. I opened it up but there was nothing inside. I couldn’t quite figure out its purpose. People had done things here, deep in the forest.

During Panic I joined in with a few of those big shouts/calls. I was totally lost in the experience. I think what blows me away about Ark is that, for me, it doesn’t just feel like people communing with nature. It is nature. On Campfire Songs, the boys are engulfed in this atmosphere: the outdoors, the elements, the sounds of the fauna. They’re immersing themselves in nature. On Ark, they’re the ones making those sounds. They are nature. They somehow become the awesome power of nature with just their instruments and voices. The strangeness and the beauty and the violence and the growth and the decay. This messy forest and it’s tall, twisted trees and fallen branches and grey skies and wet earth.

During Two Sails I started the serious climb to the top of the ridge, lost in the droning pianos and oddly alien, amphibian vocals. As I passed a small stream of rain water rolling down the ridge, I took one of my earphones out and heard insects and frogs in the long grass of its banks. I breathed in the smells of the pine and the mud and the fresh water and the wet rocks.

As I started to get close to the top, Slippi blasted it’s way in and I just smiled and ran. I was pretty wet by this point and the mud had been flicking up my back off my heels, but the rain had stopped. I passed a bird flitting around on the branches just above me, full of life, darting about. A tiny wren. Small enough to fit inside my mouth.

As the pine trees cleared and I reached the top, Too Soon began. I found myself stopping and starting in time with the song’s pauses. I was pretty much at the top, looking over the city and the mountains in the distance. I could see the storm that had just passed over me now sending sheets of rain down over the city below. As the big ascending chorus vocals kicked in I just raised my head to the sky. I hadn’t crossed paths with another soul this whole time. Just bathing in the forest.

At this point I felt almost like I was tripping (I wasn’t). It was almost a religious experience. Looking out at the view, seeing the storm roll away. Brilliant rays of light bursting through either side of it. “I was under that and it blanketed me and guided me through this experience” I thought. It was kind of threatening and yet ultimately provided comfort. The album ended, I stood there for a few moments and then walked back down. No music, just listening to the birds and the storm in the distance. Thunder still rumbling away. It was fucking special. Rejuvenating and fortifying. Trailing through the pine forest. I was nature.


P.S. It was so awesome to have had this listening experience. It also drew Campfire Songs and this album together even more for me. The rain and thunder really tying them to each other. It was magical.

Foxtrot what a great writeup! I can totally relate to that experience. I haven't listened to Ark in its entirety for years, but when I did I had a rule that I only listened to it in the woods, as it was getting dark. Incredible how much that album lives and breathes that kind of environment. Will definitely have to do it again soon.

Blasted: another album i'm hearing now for the first time ever. i hate to dump a load of negativity into this thread, but i'm not gonna lie, i wanted to do this one first to get it over with because i had a feeling i wasn't gonna like it very much... and i wasn't entirely wrong

there's just not really enough going on here to keep me interested, especially apart from the first two tracks and West Indian Day Parade, and on top of that, it feels really disjointed. not to say that it's unlistenable, it's just very... meh

still, i have high hopes for Oboroed. two tracks, each 20+ minutes long, seems like the perfect environment for this kind of thing to flourish

love reading your thoughts foxtrot. at the end of all this, you gotta put em all in one big letter and send it to AC


i'm close to getting the nerve to listen to all of Ark, and not just "Native Belle" on repeat

Blasted: another album i'm hearing now for the first time ever. i hate to dump a load of negativity into this thread, but i'm not gonna lie, i wanted to do this one first to get it over with because i had a feeling i wasn't gonna like it very much... and i wasn't entirely wrong

there's just not really enough going on here to keep me interested, especially apart from the first two tracks and West Indian Day Parade, and on top of that, it feels really disjointed. not to say that it's unlistenable, it's just very... meh

still, i have high hopes for Oboroed. two tracks, each 20+ minutes long, seems like the perfect environment for this kind of thing to flourish

Oboroed is def an improvement yeah, agree with you on Blasted though. Terrestrial Tones already isn't the most exciting AC side project and this proto-TT album is better in theory than in practice. I do love the album cover though