Not going undergound

Animal Collective - Water Curses

2007 was a good year for Animal Collective. It saw the release of Strawberry Jam, arguably their most mature LP in their nine-year history. They toured the US and Europe approximately 14 times. They made their television debut debut on Conan O’Brien. They even got to experience the first snow in Tucson in a decade. But for all of the leaps forward the band made, they were largely overshadowed by the individual achievements of co-founding member Panda Bear (Noah Lennox). He did, after all, release Person Pitch, the best Brian Wilson album since Pet Sounds. Yup, some people rather enjoyed that one. He even emerged for the first time as a songwriting force in the band, contributing three of Strawberry Jam’s nine songs. 2007 was indeed the Year of the Panda.

Which makes it all the more puzzling (or perhaps revealing) that Panda Bear is almost nowhere to be seen on Water Curses. Rather, the four song EP (recorded during the same sessions in Tucson that yielded Strawberry Jam) serves almost as a solo outing for frontman Avey Tare (Dave Portner). Although it is admittedly difficult to connect the Collective’s sounds to individual members, there are no live drums, no additional vocalists, and sparse instrumentation throughout. In general, these songs consist of little more than Avey’s guitar or piano backed with various electronic bleeps and glitches. The result is a collection that sounds like a more refined, streamlined version of their previous album. Take the track “Street Flash,” for example. The song, a fan favorite since it was first live nearly three years ago, is driven only by Avey’s melancholy, heavily delayed guitar and a controlled chaos of electronic bleeps and glitches in lieu of a proper percussion track. Diehards may notice that the screams permeating the background first appeared in live versions of Panda’s “Bro’s,” but otherwise, this song (and the ones that follow) are strictly the Avey Tare show. That background noise, by the way, is a recurring theme here – Animal Collective has mastered the art of layering a symphony of noise without ever detracting from the big idea.

The title track is the only song here that sounds like the work of a full band – incidentally, it’s also perhaps the most immediate, danceable song the band has ever recorded. In truth, with its bubbly synth line and steel drums, it sounds downright out of place standing next to three more somber, introspective tunes. This discrepancy is the only thing that prevents Water Curses from sounding like a collection of cast-offs and leftovers. Instead, it serves as a natural bridge documentation the Collective’s transformation from the noisy SJ era to their current incarnation as a more minimal electronic outfit. In that context, they may not win any new fans with this outing, but it will no doubt be a pleasant surprise for those thought that 2008 would be a letdown from the band.

8.2/10