Monday, December 4, 2006


#18 Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished - Animal Collective (Animal 2000, FatCat 2003)


After hearing one song of their '03 Here Comes the Indian I had to go out and hunt down some of this psychadelic/psychotic bands offerings. I would later to come to find out the one song I heard off of Indian was nothing like the rest of the album, but what I found in the meantime mezmerized, enchanted, and disturbed me. Although the Collective is 4 guys proper, not every release features Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin, and Geologist. This album is their 1st and features only the first 2. They would prefer to change their name with each release, but something know as greenbacks urges otherwise.

During the first months of listening, I couldnt believe what I was hearing from 2 people-mostly just one...as "Panda played perfect percussion." It was like I was forced to get on one of those carny fun-rides knowing that some of the nuts and bolts were loose/missing, but in order to hear the whole thing as told by the guy standing at the bottom of the first drop next to the carousel, I had to stay on for ride after ride after ride. And I guess when I put it on today its still the same thing, kinda.

Thinking on childhood can be a wonderful and at the same time horrific experience. Well, thats what this album does in 1 hour (if you stick around), and in a highly specific way. Things were better then; we want our innocence back, and can't we just frolic in that state forever? I've never heard anyone try and put these experiences to such unique and garbled sounds before. Magical electronics, tape effects, piano, and screaming about a time lost forever. I needed to go there, especially since I was then being surrounded by kids all day who got to experience this stuff for the first time. It was all flooding back to me...

'Wave them home, As the childhood ends, Turn it fast, As one mild day steals, Someone's soul, Into 20 years, In spirit they've vanished, And I'll show you why, They'll make you take elderly paths by this time, If we would just dump it, In the sea and fly, It's hard to just kiss our Child games goodbye.' "Spirit They've Vanished"

So Avey, or people he knows, gets tripped by the bully, goes out in nature and gets tripped by sex, enters school and sits in soilded clothes, meets an angel in the bathroom, and longs for the day when the ice cream man will again save the day. (he still scares me) We were gonna get here some way or another, just not too fast now...

4 comments:

Big Cougar said...

I was walking out in nature the other day and then got tripped by sex...what a great fall.

I have never heard anything off of this album. I think I am going to make it a point to now.

Glad to see the Animal instinct finally make the list.

Papa Shoegaze said...

i put 'alvin row' on mix cd for you last year. find it now.

Lucky Strikes said...

I don't know what scares me more...this review about AC or the Ice Cream Man's crazy wife on the front cover of Aaron's #20 Cars post. A quick listen to "Spirit" on iTunes and I had to turn the lights back on...

Papa Shoegaze said...

for a 'single', try chocolate girl...