Animal Collective - "Defeat"

Animal Collective go the distance on their sprawling new single, "Defeat."

Animal Collective - "Untitled #1"

Animal Collective are set to reissue their debut record, 2000's Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished along with an EP of unreleased tracks including "Untitled #1."

Animal Collective played Brooklyn Steel

In February, Animal Collective released Time Skiffs, their best album in over a decade. On Saturday night they brought it to Brooklyn Steel.

Animal Collective - "Walker"

Animal Collective have shared the second single ahead of next year's Time Skiffs. Listen to "Walker" now!

Animal Collective - "Prester John"

Animal Collective have announced their first studio album since 2016. The new record is called Time Skiffs and it's out in February 2022.

Animal Collective played Sung Tongs at Town Hall

Animal Collective brought their Sung Tongs tour to New York’s historic Town Hall and relived a sound they’ve since shed.

Animal Collective - "FloriDada"

Animal Collective shared "FloriDada", the first single off their newest studio record, Painting With. It's out February 19 via Domino.

Governor's Ball 2013 (Part 1)

For it's third installment, NYC's Governor's Ball kicked things up a notch by turning the once single day festival (actually on Governor's Island) into a monster three day festival with all-star headliners. It finally seemed as if New York City would have a proper festival after the disastrous Field Day fiasco of 2003 and All Points West. And then there was a tropical storm.

Animal Collective played Terminal 5

There was a lot riding on Animal Collective's make-up gig for their cancelled appearance at the Williamsburg Waterfront. My last encounter with the band was during their 2007 tour in support of the awesome Strawberry Jam. It was probably the most disappointing show I've seen in the past five years.

Playing a set of material mostly from the good (but not great) Centipede Hz, the group was surrounded by psychedelic claws and rainbow saturated teeth that hosted an outburst of warped images and television static. Exploding to life during new tunes "Applesauce" "Wide Eyed" and "Moonjock" the group was firing on all cylinders and seamlessly transitioned between each track. The slow burning "Crimson" got the night off to a slow start and lead single "Today's Supernatural" fell flat along with "Mercury Man" as Avey Tare donned his best Pat Smear hair style and sat cornered away while Deakin and Geologist kept the momentum at a high. Schizoid blasts of electric pulses were non-stop and throbbing bass lines echoed the cavernous hall; the band has never seemed so distant from their Sung Tong days. Panda Bear's booming "New Town Burnout" sounded as epic as ever and it was such a pleasure to see him behind a drum kit. As Merriweather closer "Brother Sport" began to take shape towards the end of the main set, the crowd reached a new level of excitement that had laid dormant for most of the new material. An epic sing-a-long from the crowd ensued during the monstrous hit as a wave of bliss overcame the audience. After what seemed like the culmination of sonic ecstasy for the evening, the song bled into "Peacebone" and Avey ditch his postion behind synths and boards for his traditional place in the front. His screams soared and his body lurched during each wail bringing the primitive nature of the band back into the mix. The encore kicked off with the under appreciated "Also Frightened" before the mega-sensation "My Girls" brought the crowd to a near frenzy. Things winded down with "Amanita", the closer from their latest release and probably the weakest track on the album. It was an unfortunate low to an evening of tremendous promise for a band not known to be crowd pleasers. Going into an Animal Collective show with any kind of expectation is a mistake and when you allow the band to take you on their magical journey with an open mind, you are far better off than hoping for them to play some sort of greatest hits set.

Setlist:
01 Crimson
02 Today's Supernatural
03 Wide Eyed
04 Applesauce
05 Mercury Man
06 Lion in a Coma
07 Moonjock
08 Father Time
09 New Town Burnout
10 Monkey Riches
11 Brother Sport
12 Peacebone
--
13 Also Frightened
14 My Girls
15 Amanita

Animal Collective - "Today's Supernatural"

Last night, Panda Bear stepped up to the table and DJed the first addition of Animal Collective Radio. During his set he premiered the first single off their new record Centipede Hz. Check out "Today's Supernatural" in the video above.

Animal Collective - "Honeycomb" and "Gotham"

It's been a while since we heard a proper release from experimental-psych masters Animal Collective, but today the band posted two new tracks to their website. Check out "Honeycomb" and "Gotham" which will see a physical release on June 26th via Domino.

Albums of 2009

One of my favorite parts of the end of the year are all of the year end lists posted by various blogs, magazines, and other websites. I think it's one of the best ways to catch up on notable releases throughout the year and reconsider some music I brushed off after one listen. So here are the ten albums I enjoyed the most in 2009.

01. Grizzly Bear | Veckatimest
It is hard to say that Veckatimest was a refreshing hit when it was released in the spring since two of the singles had already been receiving heavy blog play for almost a year. However this album packed a subtle punch that proved it's strength after repeated listens. Taking the ambient and orchestrated sounds of Yellow House, the four piece expanded their well crafted tunes into perfect pop snippets blended with clever arrangements of striking guitar and topsy-turvey percussion.


02. Animal Collective | Merriweather Post Pavillion
There has been apparent love for this album since it leaked at the end of 2008 and it has all been warranted. Animal Collective have been some of the hardest working musicians of the decade and MPP has been a sort of culmination record most bands dream of making. They take their strong ability to mix together folk/jam/noise efforts into pop appeal for the masses in what is their most accessible album to date.



03. Dirty Projectors | Bitte Orca
No one has timing like this band. Nothing on this album happens in the way that you would expect and that is probably the reason why one can listen to it over and over and never hear the same thing twice. The swaying vocals and off kilter guitar jams are pure art rock and the vocal work is nothing shy of a Mariah Carey R&B hit. The fact that this band can make those two things fit together is pretty impressive.



04. The xx | xx
On paper (or computer screen) nothing about this record sounds exciting. It is hollow, quiet, simple, yet oh so powerful. These London teens recall overcast 80's British post-punk and add in some dub-step for one of the most daringly plain yet understated records of the year. It seems that this record should satisfy after one listen since it is so bleak, yet the ability to draw back repeat listens is nothing short of genius.

05. Phoenix | Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
For almost a decade, Phoenix has written jubilant indie-pop smashes that have always held them just at the cusp of fame. This time around, their savvy synths launched them to stardom. "1901" and "Lisztomania" were two of the biggest pop songs of the year and the best 1-2 punch to kick off an album in recent memory. They have the rock sensibility of the Strokes and a John Hughes synth-pop power that stretches just enough past the indie scale that made these guys the biggest sensation of the year.



06. Fever Ray | Fever Ray
When the Knife released Silent Shout in 2006 the album was sighted as icy, synth driven electronica. Well that album was the avalanche and Fever Ray is the tundra. These slow driven, pulsating sounds are the calm after the storm, but are just as harsh and dense as anything that has come before it.





07. Japandroids | Post-Nothing
This Vancouver duo takes you front and center in the garage and power through eight songs of pure teen angst that combines harsh fuzzed out guitars with simple hooks and melodies. Never have two youngsters given so much grief towards aging past 25 and so much hope to live life to the fullest all at the same time. What could be better than getting to France to french kiss some French girls? Not much, but listen to this album until the flight leaves.

08. Girls | Album

Christopher Owens, the main man behind garage-surf-pop band Girls, is just as unsure about his future as you and me. The only catch, his band is rising to fame for their acclaimed songwriting not only in terms of melody, but lyricism as well. Their tunes breeze by yet their disheveled lives catch-up to them and songs begin to contort into rocking bliss. Is Owens ready to step up as the next promising artist of his generation? Probably not, but he'll take a stab at in anyway.

09. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Take one part Belle and Sebastian, one part The Smiths, and one part My Bloody Valentine and you will have yourself one whole The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. These dream-pop songs have the freshness of 2009 with the nostalgia of 1989. The hooks are monstrous and the jangly shoegaze guitar bleed in with the vocals creating this haze of beautiful pop melody.



10. Lightning Bolt | Earthly Delights
Never have two people ever sounded as loud as Lightning Bolt. The obnoxiously loud bass drones of Brian Gibson are matched by the ballistically brilliant Brian Chippendale in one of the most aggressive attacks on a drum kit (and attacks on music) I have ever heard. This album is certainly not for everyone and might be the hardest to approach on this list, but for those willing to take the journey, Lightning Bolt can certainly take your ears to places they have never been before.

The music world is currently off-tilt due to the announcement from the biggest band in modern rock. Radiohead officially announced the release of their seventh album In Rainbows today. It comes out on October 10, yes ten days, and it costs however much you want to pay. The record industry is about to be completely fucked. The band is free from a major label and are about to release the most anticipated album of the last few years. With only ten days of notice, no advanced copies, no leaks, no huge marketing campaigns, and only digital download from their site until December, Radiohead is about to revolutionize the music industry. Also they are taking it one step further and offering a "diskbox" package which includes the actual cd, two heavyweight vinyl copies, and an extra cd with additional new songs. The bad part is it costs about $80 and it does not ship until December 3rd. However, it is Radiohead and they are quite possibly the most important band of this generation.

In other news, I saw Animal Collective last night at Webster Hall. I did not know what to expect from these guys. I had heard that usually they play nothing off their albums during live shows and only work on new material. However, with the recent release of Strawberry Jam the guys played a decent amount of older tracks. Only three of the members graced us with their presence and they seemed a little bothered with things. During the excellent new jam "Fireworks" Avey abruptly stopped the song complaining of too much bass. The lights were fantastic and the songs sounded great, however the crowd lacked energy and it was a missing link.

Hot Tracks:

1. Kanye West - "Champion". The second track off Kanye's latest LP is one of his best ever.
2. Band of Horses - "Is There a Ghost". Although the album as a whole does not stand up to their debut album, this song shows these guys still know how to write a good rock song.
3. Iron & Wine - "Boy With a Coin". The third release from Mr. Beam shows how to progress in music without losing what got you where you are.

Keep it scene in the city.