Collected Animals

(I think individual song threads are good for future searching and looking back on first impressions.)

I didn't much like the Amazon sample, it sounded like one of the weakest (which bodes well) but I think this is pretty interesting and has a strange energy to it. The hocketing is propulsive and there are some unusual harmonies and chord changes. At first, it sounded 'out of tune'.

I like the way the vocals come together and then separate and then come together again, lots of fun interplay and the little touches of piano do a great job knitting the harmonies together, helps to hold the song down, kind of like the opening theme in jazz, it's the foundation for all the weirder melodic diversion.

The sax sounds really out of place, but not in a bad way, just a very unusual texture for Animal Collective, plus the snaking melodies are more snake than melody. Kind of remind me of Arabic scales.

Pretty sparse but a bit weird, kind of catchy but undercut with some discordant melodies in the background. I like it a lot.

I feel like it's more "smart" than it is "fun"

whatever that means

Okay, the flute at the Try and approach the hidden mixtures part needs to be louder. It's fucking sick.

I find the some of the abrupt lyrics in the verse??, like the wicked urge part to be a bit offputting. It doesn't even sound like the same vocal cut.

this song is fantastic

the flute and sax bits (nice to see them changing up instrumentation)

and those last 30 seconds

First two listens were kind of "wait, what?" (not in the best way) to me, but holy shit did it grow on me fast. It's definitely not as 'exciting' as FloriDada, but I also think that it's more interesting, fresh, and less conventional, and that's good in my view. It has a really nice, chill dance vibe to it that none of their other tracks have.

I don't know if it'll be a favorite of mine on the record though. Also, I think I'm going to hold off listening to it that much until the rest of the record comes out. I really don't want to burn this song out and I think it'll be waaay more enjoyable in the context of the entire album.

I'm really glad that it sounds different from their other stuff in such a drastic way.

Can't wait to see them do it live. If they don't let that shit run at the end I'll be very disappointed

based on a few listens of the samples, i thought this was one of the frontrunners, and its better than i had hoped...floridada took several listens to get into, but this one got me right away...

the hype is real.

The amazon sample of this was one of my favorites! And I'm glad that the track delivered too, although it seemed a bit short. Huge goosebumps when the piano comes in. Was hoping for a keychange or something to have it "go somewhere" but the live version of this will surely expand upon the LP version.

Great track.

It's squidgy, exotic, amorphous. What I probably love most about it is the palette of sounds on offer. The boingy synth, clippy clappy percussion, the steady beat that sounds like its treading water, the bright piano notes and the fluttering horns and flutes. It's a joy to take in. I actually prefer the first half to the second, can't get enough of the beat coupled with the hocketing.

I actually couldn't hear Avey at all on this. I'm sure he's there now, singing with Panda, but I actually thought this was a Panda-only track up until this morning. And then there's a guy on the sub who thinks it's Avey singing?? Weird.

You can hear avey in the odd background vox and also chiming in at the end of some of panda's lines
but apart from that this is all noah

huh? I'm like 99% sure this is Avey singing "lead" vocals, with Panda on the offbeats. and a lot of unison as well. but the verses are definitely Avey and Panda alternating syllables

I'm listening loudly on good headphones

Song keeps growing on me. I love the modular noises that lead into the "get mixed in this crippling fixture" part. I guess you could call that the bridge? every song released so far has had an amazing bridge lol. which makes sense w the Beatles-style songwriting

Yeah, almost positive it's Avey on lead here - though it really did take listening on my headphones to pick up on that. Noah I think takes over on the hidden mixture/misplaced stash bits. Marvellous harmonies.

Love the textures present here, especially the machinations that start crackling during the "misplaced stash" section. I feel the criticisms that it's more heady than feely - it feels like a song that will make me think and process it rather than vibe to it. Which is totally fine, but I hope the album has a few jams that punch me in the heart in some way or another.

tbh my first impression of this was that it's more of an 'authentic' animal collective song than floridada was. both are fun and have a similar sound palette i guess but this just has a certain unconventional edge to it that i love. pretty cool track, last 30 seconds are crazy

Gonna be honest here, when I was in the BWI bathroom this was the song I was most excited about. Mostly the complex percussion parts. And Stetson tearing it up in the background. What a track.

such a groove

lovelovelove the sax/flute parts sooooo much

agree with everyone about the last 30 seconds
but i also think the first 30 seconds is

lol we alrdy disussed the vocal parts in the pw thread and confident ppl concluded i was a co op effort b/w the two of them. im only just now hearing how much avey is in it...

song is so fuckin rad. floridada ima let u finish but u seem kinda soft compared to this. i mean i wont hate, got love for flrdada too for sure..

Gonna be honest here, when I was in the BWI bathroom this was the song I was most excited about. Mostly the complex percussion parts. And Stetson tearing it up in the background. What a track.

while you were listening in the bathroom, did you ever have to "go", and if so, did you do so while listening to the new AC?

Similarities to Also Frightened ?

The drum patterns reminds of TEAM by Lorde, but more primal. The bass of this song is a didgeridoo.

When the second half arrives I feel somewhere between a dark-jazz John Zorn-esque NYC street and a sunny swamp with weird folks and animals moaning and wanking behind me.

its super disassociative. something i rlly like abt ac. i dont even know what it sounds like.. i get a vague brazillian or latin vibe but idk that music... Portuguese? kinda reminds me of mr noah in a way.

and a clear piano part in an ac song is almost weird as a sax.. tho i guess theres a notable one in cuckoo

and bluish, safer, few songs on spirit, almost every song on feels, some songs on pullhair, etc.

and bluish, safer, few songs on spirit, almost every song on feels, some songs on pullhair, etc.

yeah. not that weird

it definitely feels different in this song, they've never done a bouncy, clean piano line like this before

Gonna be honest here, when I was in the BWI bathroom this was the song I was most excited about. Mostly the complex percussion parts. And Stetson tearing it up in the background. What a track.

I'm sure you've probably answered this, but when you were there did you get to hear the whole album or just the songs you recorded?

it definitely feels different in this song, they've never done a bouncy, clean piano line like this before

the piano at the beginning of "did you see the words" isn't bouncy and clean? those are its two most fitting adjectives imo haha

avey's always killed it on the keys

The piano on DYSTW was deliberately out of tune and it sounds much more effected than the piano on this track.

This one sounds like a very basic keyboard sound. And the notes are extremely easy to play, but at the same time are very impactful

the piano definitely struck me as very out of character, its used in a completely different way than the boys have used it b4, but thats very in character too, esp when they tryna flip the sonic script

preacherben wrote:

it definitely feels different in this song, they've never done a bouncy, clean piano line like this before

the piano at the beginning of "did you see the words" isn't bouncy and clean? those are its two most fitting adjectives imo haha

fuck lol. okay i need to learn better words to describe what i mean. it's like whimsical or some shit

the beat reminds of something from World of Echo

Lying In The Grass took a couple of listens for me to really get it. For how spacious it sounds, there really is a lot going on in the song. The more I hear it, the more I love it. That's how the vast majority of their music has been for me. The first listen is always fun when you don't know when to expect, and then after a few more all the pieces fit into place and it just makes sense.

Lying In The Grass took a couple of listens for me to really get it. For how spacious it sounds, there really is a lot going on in the song. The more I hear it, the more I love it. That's how the vast majority of their music has been for me. The first listen is always fun when you don't know when to expect, and then after a few more all the pieces fit into place and it just makes sense.

Amen

Is it really a sax? Sounds more like a clarinet, maybe even a bass one. Doesn't sound like it's coming from a brass woodwind, sounds too smooth, but maybe whoever's playing it is just that good. I'm not even sure it's not a a mix of a live player and a synth woodwind part hocketing.

ya it doesnt rlly sound like a sax to me but at least someone said its colin stetson.

maybe whoever's playing it is just that good

His sounds are from another planet

I wonder if Stetson is playing the flute on this song too. I'm really digging it right now

Idk if it's a flute, I think it's just a super smooth sax. Unless you're talking about the "hidden mixture" part

TheElvinWarrior wrote:

maybe whoever's playing it is just that good

His sounds are from another planet

I'm so glad you posted that video, it's amazing.

I don't know if it's been discussed yet, but do you think he'll be doing that amazing, uh, yelling-into-the-sax-while-he's-playing (Wikipedia calls it growling) thing on any of the tracks on this album? That could lead to some pretty stellar moments. I'm pretty sure he's going to be on a few more tracks at least.

that part that kicks in at the 2 minute mark and then again at 2:40 is just pure bliss

Idk if it's a flute, I think it's just a super smooth sax. Unless you're talking about the "hidden mixture" part

I'm pretty sure there are 2 types of woodwinds on this song. A higher pitched flute and a lower pitched sax or oboe or clarinet (those are sometimes hard to differentiate). I'm curious if Stetson plays both