Old Animal Collective

With everybody and their mom already partaking in Animal Collective’s fantastic, yet to be released Strawberry Jam, it seems more appropriate to showcase some Animal Collective tunes that might actually be new to your ears than anything off the new album. Of course this post isn’t for those AC fans that have been faithful and tracked down every release from the band over the years but rather a chance for those that have brushed aside anything pre-Sung Tongs into some forgotten corner in their iTunes library. To be honest I haven’t paid as much attention to these releases until the recent and as I consider myself a supposed top notch AC fan it was a humbling experience to hear the progression of the band over the years.

“Doggy” appeared on Campfire Songs, a project that took place on a summer porch some years ago between Avey Tare and Panda Bear. The songs are a lo-fi dream and a precursor to the sound that everyone would go bonkers over on Sung Tongs. It has the acoustic guitar/vocal harmony balance that I think mistakenly placed them under the new folk “movement” a few years ago. Its easy to think of Campfire Songs as a recital for the songwriting process that would create some of AC’s best songs on Sung Tongs.

[mp3] Animal Collective – Doggy (from Campfire Songs)

“Slippi” might be as close to modern Animal Collective that old Animal Collective ever got. It’s a basic snapshot as to what was to come and gave us a blueprint as to the progression of the band’s sound. All of the now classic Avey screams as well as Panda Bear’s percussion gone minimally fantastic are in full show with enough dramatic horn samples that sees Panda Bear readying himself for his own Person Pitch.

[mp3] Animal Collective – Slippi (from Here Comes The Indian)

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