Animal Collective – Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished – Album Review – Josh Reedy

Animal Collective, Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished

My copy: 2009 limited reissue, FatCat Records

    Spirit is an indomitable force in the Animal Collective catalog. This album is the result of an extremely creative mind expressing its angst, fear, love and curiosity in the most cheerfully visceral way possible. Off the bat you’ll notice how layered and textured the record is, the first track is a haunted ballad of electronic noises and lamented whispers. Spirit is an album about childhood, being frightened of the unknown and the charm of adolescence wearing off. “April and the Phantom” begins by luring the listener in with its shimmering synths only to spook you with loud churning distortion as if a joke by some prankster juvenile.

The melodies may be obscured by synthetic noises, but these are cleverly written arrangements, primarily composed on and featuring plenty of piano. Avey Tare (David Portner) demonstrates his proclivity for strong vocal harmonies all throughout, and makes supreme use of dynamics on tracks like “April and the Phantom” and “Alvin Row.” Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) solely provides drums to this record, and is rightly credited for “perfect percussion” as his frantic brush-laden fills complement the beautiful cacophony of sound excellently.

Perhaps where Spirit loses points most is in its production, which may be rough on the ears of those who are accustomed to high-budget indie-rock mixing. Spirit Intentionally utilizes high frequencies to play to themes of aging (some frequencies can only be heard by children and as we age, we lose the ability to perceive said frequencies), which can be a bit grating at times (“Untitled,” the end of “Penny Dreadfuls,” and beginning of “Alvin Row”) but ultimately factor into the unique sound and atmosphere of album. The synth bass is not to be overlooked as well, it is utilized to full effect and some songs have extremely catchy grooves (“Chocolate Girl,” “Bat You’ll Fly,” and “La Rapet”).

The real star is “Alvin Row,” a 12 minute excursion into noise, psychedelia and pop. The intro whirs and twists with sharp sounds of machinery only to give way to some immaculately connected piano and vocal melodies. “Alvin Row” remains playful, and dances between mad piano banging to hushed contemplations only to erupt into one of the most satisfying crescendos in Animal Collective history.

Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, and that is primarily what I look for in music. This album gives me hope that no matter how many dead ends music may reach in terms of writing, there will always be new sonic barriers to break through. The lyrics are enigmatic but relevant enough to the theme that you will always be interpreting them differently. For someone seeking an exciting, primal and incredibly diverse record, I beg you to really give this album a close listen. It is equal parts frustrating and amazing that this album was completed when Avey was just 19 years old (God knows what crap songs I was writing at 19). If you’re a fan and desperate for a copy (mine currently goes for around $150), Domino recently announced a new reissue that includes a never before heard EP from the same era.