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July 13, 2006
your face through an expanse of brown cloth
Animal Collective - Cuckoo (live in Seattle)
Of the post-"Feels" songs that the band has been playing out live, 'Cuckoo' is probably the most intriguing- it's a step in a different direction (esp. after the shimmering prettiness of "Feels" and the warm, translucent joy of "Sung Tongs"), but it also harkens back to some of the more damaged songs from "Here Comes the Indian" (e.g. 'Hey Light', 'Panic', 'Slippi')- 'Cuckoo' starts off with a gorgeous little piano loop and small waves of deep, airless beats, all circumscribed by an occasional burst of angry static from the guitars (foreshadowing). Dave's lyrics in 'Cuckoo' are more narrative than usual (more reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel subject matter), as he sings in the first verse about "little boy died/you keep rolling past my eyes/singing your songs/life was good now/death's all wrong", and later goes on to detail how he can't feel a thing and can't see a thing (the song's got a pretty disorienting vibe to it). The grit of 'Cuckoo' comes in the chorus, as Dave wails and is overwhelmed by blasts of the aforementioned livid guitar noise, and Panda Bear plays his drums like he's falling down a flight of stairs while attached to the kit (adds to the bewilderment); this is definitely one of the things that Animal Collective does best, I think (or at least it's the part of their aesthetic that appeals most to me)- taking functionally pretty elements and contrasting those constituent parts with textures that are harsher, unusual, or not conventionally mellifluous to make a song that effects dramatic shifts in the listener's overall experience and intensifies the emotional response, etc.
The band has said recently that they're not going to record any of the brand new songs any time soon, so this might not see the light of day until late 2007, and of course, given the band's tendency to dramatically rework material, the arrangement and lyrics will probably change a half dozen times before it's even laid to tape. Anyway, it's one of my favorite songs of theirs as it is, and I hope they decide to include it on the next record. Also, look out for that "Hollindagain" (wrote about it here) reissue this fall. [Buy previous AC albums]
Posted by Kevin at July 13, 2006 06:20 AM
Comments
i can't seem to find the full lyrics to cuckoo anywhere...can anyone help out?
Posted by: matt at August 16, 2006 05:49 AM