Animal Collective - Leaf House

Brooklyn-based Animal Collective don't take themselves seriously, but they do it with rare emotion. Founding members Avey Tare (vocals, guitars) and Panda Bear (vocals, drums) have been friends for over ten years, but Animal Collective effectively took shape in 2000 when they started recording together. Their first album, Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished, released that same year on their own label, went largely unnoticed but had TimeOut NY describing them as 'the discovery of the year'.

The feel of this album, Sung Tongs, always catches me off gaurd - with myriads of incidental sounds, from street noises to broken conversations and field recordings providing background atmospherics, their songs are intensely organic and alive while the stunningly focused and direct melodies contribute to make Sung Tongs both challenging and approachable. They travel from ethnic-esque to psychedelia to sub-sonic takes on the urban vibe that surrounds us. They deeply explore sound in new and invigorating ways.

Panda Bear has gone out on his own with two albums - one of which I might just have to review. Aren't you lucky?