My Favorite Records of 2004 - #14 - Animal Collective Sung Tongs (Fat Cat)
So, I'm a bit conflicted about putting this record on the list at all. On the one hand, I realize that it is fundamentally innovative and enjoyable. On the other, I haven't really listened to it all that much past the first two tracks. That said, I think "Leaf House" and "Who Could Win a Rabbit?" alone merit a mention on this list.
Animal Collective can careen from noisy experimentalism to pastoral calm with singular ease, and Sung Tongs finds them experimenting with acoustic guitars, tribal rhythms and complex vocal arrangements. It's a simple album in the sense that there's not much to it. It's a complex album in the sense that the few elements are arranged very tastefully and, it must be said, kinetically. The aforementioned "Leaf House" and "WCWAR?" are simply fantastic songs by any standard. "Kids on Holiday" hits much closer to the experimentalism of Here Comes the Indian while retaining the fucked-up campfire singalong ambiance of the rest of the record. Elsewhere, "College" contains what sounds like frying bacon and sweet vocal harmonies. In fact, the only real shitty track on this record is "Visiting Friends", which is not interesting enough to hold me for 12 minutes.
To be honest, I don't know why I haven't listened to this album more. Its place on this list is well-deserved and it's truly the most unique work to come out this year. It skirts on the edge of the freak-folk shit that all the hip kids are into without succumbing to the (seemingly) contrived neediness of those groups to be freaky for no reason. The sounds on this record, put in the context of the whole record, are the most natural things in the world.
When I first heard this record described to me, I couldn't imagine how it would work together. Now, I can't imagine anything else other than what Animal Collective did on this record. A fantastic work from one of the most adventurous, exploratory, and provocative groups in music today, Sung Tongs sways back and forth at #14.
Animal Collective can careen from noisy experimentalism to pastoral calm with singular ease, and Sung Tongs finds them experimenting with acoustic guitars, tribal rhythms and complex vocal arrangements. It's a simple album in the sense that there's not much to it. It's a complex album in the sense that the few elements are arranged very tastefully and, it must be said, kinetically. The aforementioned "Leaf House" and "WCWAR?" are simply fantastic songs by any standard. "Kids on Holiday" hits much closer to the experimentalism of Here Comes the Indian while retaining the fucked-up campfire singalong ambiance of the rest of the record. Elsewhere, "College" contains what sounds like frying bacon and sweet vocal harmonies. In fact, the only real shitty track on this record is "Visiting Friends", which is not interesting enough to hold me for 12 minutes.
To be honest, I don't know why I haven't listened to this album more. Its place on this list is well-deserved and it's truly the most unique work to come out this year. It skirts on the edge of the freak-folk shit that all the hip kids are into without succumbing to the (seemingly) contrived neediness of those groups to be freaky for no reason. The sounds on this record, put in the context of the whole record, are the most natural things in the world.
When I first heard this record described to me, I couldn't imagine how it would work together. Now, I can't imagine anything else other than what Animal Collective did on this record. A fantastic work from one of the most adventurous, exploratory, and provocative groups in music today, Sung Tongs sways back and forth at #14.
posted by P at 2:55 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home