Upon handing me a copy of Animal Collective's Sung Tongs, my brother said to me, "Good luck on the similar albums portion!" My mind began to split into two different directions. One part of me thought, `Challenge!', and wanted to immediately dig through the recesses of my brain in trying to find similarities to something I had heard before. Another part of me was simply excited to be hearing something altogether new and original. In the end, I wound up doing both.

Animal Collective is essentially two people, Avey Tare and Panda Bear. They have been accompanied on some of their previous small label releases by Geologist and Deaken, but for this latest album release they are back to their original duo roots. More often than not, critics have compared their past releases to the psych-folk sixties' sound of the Holy Modal Rounders or sometimes Syd Barrett. Other comparisons have been made to the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, and labelmates Black Dice. I heard some altogether different similarities.

The first two tracks on this, what I can only call `mind-opening,' album are "Leaf House" and their first single, "Who Could Win a Rabbit." These two songs are far more discordant, abrasive, and jarring than the rest of the songs on the album, but then again, who said these things were bad? They both consist of looping and overlapping processed vocals, simple guitar melodies, and tribal percussion which sounds fairly accessible, and in comparison to previous releases it really is, but it's certainly not pop radio material. "Leaf House" ends with the chanting of "Meow" and a small voice saying "Kitties!" Weird. "Who Could Win a Rabbit" has a more aggressive acoustic guitar track, more dissonant percussion with occasional handclaps, and a stranger vocal style. The more I hear it, the more I love it.

The album takes on somewhat of a different persona after those tracks starting with "The Softest Voice," a quiet meditation that follows its title to the letter. With Nick Drake or Paul Simon guitar picking, the song show its folk base. It's backed by echoing percussion sounds which mimic nature sounds reminding me of two bands my wife is a huge fan of, Deep Forest and Delirium. She was the first to notice the similarities, and as such, quickly became a fan of the record. She mentioned that if those two bands were to be replaced by indie kids seeking the same style, Animal Collective is what would result.

"Winters Love" follows and is easily one of the best tracks on the album. Beginning simplistically and almost childlike, the song is again a complex tapestry of Animal Collective's three tools, guitar, percussion, and vocals. Having two distinct parts, the second half is like an XTC song sans Andy Partridge's vocals. The singing of Avey and Panda are clear enough to understand, but unobtrusive enough to seem like backup.

As I mentioned before, Animal Collective reminds me of certain music I've heard before, but at the same time sounds like nothing I've ever been familiar with. It takes true talent to pass off this contradiction and Animal Collective has it in spades. To me, the duo sounds like what you would get if David Byrne and Peter Gabriel joined up with Sufjan Stevens and Devendra Banhart and all took LSD together. They would sit around a campfire making up children's stories and songs featuring all manner of woodland creature until the early hours of the morning. Of course, Brian Eno would have to be there to record and loop sounds to complete the production.

Every track on Sung Tongs is made up of the same essential building blocks and each song is, and sounds like, a distinct entity unto itself. I was immediately lured by the magic of Animal Collective as any lover of great music should be. If the combination of folk, psychedelia, rock, ambient, and indie, then Animal Collective's Sung Tongs should be in your collection. If this combination sounds strange to you, well, it is, but it's a hell of a thing to hear.

Similar Albums:
Deep Forest- Boheme
Delirium- Karma
Devendra Banhart- Rejoicing in the Hands
(I also hear Danielson Famile - Tri-Danielson - Ed.)


Ernest Simpson
07.05.2004