Campfire Songs
(Catsup Plate) Used CD $6.00
Though the sound is radically different from the digital processing and sound manipulation previously employed by The Animal Collective, the results are clearly of a piece with the percussive, almost incantatory feel of their earlier records. This was recorded on a screened-in porch in rural Maryland and the hum of the outdoors adds depth and presence impossible to achieve otherwise. The trio knits together threads of guitar strum and pluck; chanted, nearly wistful vocal harmonies; and often a pulsing rhythm that seems like it might break apart at any moment, and sometimes does. The melodies are simple and repetitive, recalling the early work of the Third Ear Band, ’70s German commune-music, and similar folk-psychedelic explorers. Edition of 1000 copies in handmade chipboard digipaks with offset printed decals and insert.