A creative band in the making...Awful noise here. - Let me preface this review by saying that I am a huge fan of some of Animal Collective s work (Tung Songs, Feels, the Prospect Hummer EP, and 2007 s Strawberry Jam). That being said, those of you who worship every obscure album and EP (especially the very early stuff like this album - actually Avey Tare & Panda bear, who are now Animal Collective) will not want to read this review.Take my word and DO NOT BUY THIS ALBUM. Go out and get some of the ones listed above if you want to give this band a listen. They are very unique and talented - I m not denying that. This album is just not an adequate representation of the band s capability and ends up just being weird noise that hurts your ears. I m not kidding - preview a few of the tracks and don t be surprised when you cover your ears to protect them from the raging screetching and piercing, high-frequency squeals. It sounds like a dog whistle. Anyone who, like the 7 other reviewers, says this album is beautiful noise or deep, thought-provoking music or that people who don t like it just don t understand it are lying to you. I enjoy a wide variety of difficult music such as ambient artists Brian Eno and Carbon Based Lifeforms, as well as Set Fire to Flames - but some people just want to believe, and end up convincing themselves, that there is something more to music like this than just noise. But it isn t. If you want to spend your time assaulting your ears with this album or Here Comes the Indian, also by Animal Collective, be my guest (and consider a hearing aid in a few years). Check out one of their others instead.
It ll grow on you - Very, very good. The first CD, which was done by only Avey Tare and Panda Bear, is the most immediately accessible of the two releases on this compilation. Featuring some absolutely KILLER drumming from Panda Bear and possibly the most painful frequencies I ve ever heard, SPIRIT THEY RE GONE is nonetheless a fractured pop classic. La Rapet and April and the Phantom are my favorite tracks, but I m quite fond of them all. Destined to become one of those long-forgotten classics that only a few thousand people ever have the fortune of hearing.The second CD, DANSE MANATEE, features Avey and Panda but this time includes electronics wiz Geologist in the lineup, and is possibly the most confounding release in Animal Collective s catalogue. This is not to say it s bad--I d actually place it on the same level of quality as HERE COMES THE INDIAN--but at least half of the songs are just out there in every sense of the phrase. You really have to be patient with it to develop any liking for any of the songs. But the melodies are definitely there, and underneath the almost no-fi production are, in essence, a bunch of really well-written pop tunes. I recommend Throwin the Round Ball, Essplode, and Ahhh Good Country.This compilation is an absolute must-have for any experimental pop junkies out there, or for anyone who enjoys a side of the surreal on their musical dinner plate.
Spirit they ve gone dansing - Before the Animal Collective was called that (original name: Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin and Geologist), they were already producing oddball music -- three full-length albums and a live performance. Their first two albums were Spirit They re Gone, Spirit They ve Vanished, and Danse Manitee, a pair of radically different experimental albums. One is definitely inspired, while the other is amateurish.Danse Manitee starts off with a strange whining sound, sort of like an electronic disturbance, in the oddly named A Manatee Dance. That whining continues throughout the song, interrupted by sudden bursts of video-game blips. But the tone changes with the electro-thrash of Penguin Penguin, an abstract collection of calls and drums, and ambient fuzzpop.They continue to vary wildly in style throughout the album, noodling through hallucinatory pop, thumping rock interspersed with cries, muted acoustics, and the rippling distortion music, which is likely to give listeners a splitting headache. But there are some solid songs in the second half, like the murky Throwin the Round Ball and folky Ahhhh Good Country.Spirit They re Gone, Spirit They ve Vanished also opens with high-pitched distortion, which continues in a few songs after that, but it s a much easier album to embrace. After the intro, they launch into a screaming fuzz-rock beginning, which switches into the melodic pop of April and the Phantom, complete with chirping birds and fast guitar.From there on, the band tries out a variety of pop styles, all with the background noise and fuzzy edges that Animal Collective fans will expect. There s the gentle piano leading up to a dreamy Penny Dreadfuls, the creepy Halloweeny Chocolate Girl, the electro-cricket Everyone Whistling, and finally finishing up with the twelve-minute pop melody of Alvin Row, which seamlessly switches from pop to rock to experimental soundscapes.Like many a double album, these two suffer from a simple problem: One is brilliant, and the other is... well, not. Danse Manitee is a fairly good experimental album, with some good electronics and vocals, but there s always the feeling of talented, inexperienced musicians who are just sort of noodling around, and not playing to their strengths. With most songs, there s the feeling that it could have been so much more.Spirit They re Gone... is the reverse. Here, the now-Animal Collective is playing to their strengths -- catchy pop melodies, marinated in experimental sounds and pastoral noises. Basic guitars, drums and pianos are immersed in electronic noise and distortion, bell-like synth, and samples of crickets, birds and other things. And soft, crooning vocals are laid over the whole thing, making the softer songs seem almost lulling.Spirit They re Gone, Spirit They ve Vanished and Danse Manitee are worth checking out, whether it s for the experimental pop or for the die-hard Animal Collective fan, wanting to see the band s early days. One is great, while the other merely mediocre.
Spirit... A pretentious album and a look at things to come - I listened to Spirit They re Gone Spirit, They re Vanished after the Dansee Manatee part of this two-disc re-release of one of my current favorite groups. I must say, I probably won t listen to Dansee Manatee again... And don t immediately dispell me as people who only want to listen to catchy / 100% accessable music all the time. The reason I didn t like Dansee Manatee that much is because I think these guys were trying to hard to be out of the ordinary. These things should come naturally... and when it does, it defeniatly reflects (see Sonic Youth, Slint, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, etc...) But here, it s just aimless ramblings. I could nt find a focus point for the album at all. What impressed me more was the first disc (Spirit...) because it reminded me much more of later work such as Here Comes the Indian. A lot of the tracks were actually quite fantastic, being a trip of a song. Some started off quiet or awkward, but had the knack to turn into something contemporary. The amorphic structures of the songs were pleasing, albeit heard somewhere before. I couldn t help but still feel that this album doesn t stand out nearly as much as Sung Tongs. Although the longer songs (such as alvin row) had a nice adventuristic touch, they weren t memorable. Overall, I give the album three stars because I can tell Avey Tare and Panda Bear put much effort into it, but the end result simply pales in comparison to their later (and far more accessable) work, not because it s not as accessable, but because it s less focused.
Weird, yet highly addictive - I was browsing the A section at the music store the other day when I stumbled upon Animal Collective. I ve heard good things about them, I thought, but I had yet to actually hear them. Here s what I now know: They rock! On one hand, this isn t something that you show off to a group of friends in your car. It s just too weird. On the other hand, who needs to show off music to their friends? I d imagine if people had actually heard this, it would garner similar public response to, say, a David Lynch film, you ll either love it or hate it.Well, I love it. I think it s because if I was in a band it would sound something like this. I m basically referring to disc 1, which is also known as Spirit they re gone spirit they ve vanished. Disc two, contrastly, doesn t hold a candle to disc 1. If I was held at gunpoint right now, i d have to give that one a 3. I ve been more than satisfied with disc 1 as is, though. I have no desire to listen to the second disc. Maybe the double disc release as a whole deserves a 4, but thinking about it, disc 1 alone was worth the 18 or 19 bucks.The music is highly experimental. It starts out admittedly slow. Track 1 is very much a likeable song, yes, but in a My Bloody Valentine lure-to-sleep sort of way. It s also not too nice on the ears as pointed out by my annoyed sister. Track 2 is better, but the album really gets going starting with track 4. All the way through till the end is brilliant. It s got all kinds of influence that as far as I know comes from all over the world. You can not categorize this music. It s good to know that there is a band as creative as Animal Collective out there.If you ve got an open mind this could be a good place to start as it was great for me. I m looking forward to picking up their other releases, considering this is my only exposure to Animal Collective. Download Le Rapet and Bat you ll fly and you ll be a fan. I think.