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October 12, 2005
That chair on the side of the road was calling your name
Animal Collective - Sleeper Factory and Doggy (Live on the Breezeblock)
Left off of "Sung Tongs" because, as the band has mentioned, it didn't really fit in with the rest of the album (although I will respectfully disagree), 'Sleeper Factory' has one of the sweetest, most relaxed melodies that Avey Tare's ever written. It's driven by the same sunlight-burnished engine of acoustic guitars and sinuous vocals (Noah and Dave's phototropic harmonies) that made both "Sung Tongs" and "Campfire Songs" so monstrously gorgeous. One of the best things, I think, about both of those records (and the "Prospect Hummer" EP) was the way the guitars sound so tactile- the chords are thick and buoyant and very immediate (viz. that transition between 'Queen in My Pictures' and 'Doggy' on "Campfire Songs").
Nice aspect of this Breezeblock recording: you can really hear Avey's lyrics quite well; I like the way he progresses through the primary verbs of be, go, and do within the first three verses, e.g. "Should I tell you what I want to do/find a bed and sleep with you/cause two can sleep much more than one/and sleeping with another's so much fun." (try to drop that one into the conversation, with feigned casualness, when you're on a first date). 'Doggy', in this recording, becomes less of an inscrutable hymn (the lyrics are printed in the liner notes for "Campfire Songs", but are sort of painted in there) and more of a sweet and charmingly sad ode to a dead pet (the line where Dave namechecks himself is pretty heartbreaking).
Anyway, as you all probably know, Animal Collective's new album, "Feels" comes out next Tuesday, but you can pre-order it right now (pretty cheaply too). Also, I put up that new Panda Bear track, 'Search for Delicious', back in the post I originally wrote for it, right here.
Posted by Kevin at October 12, 2005 12:22 AM