Animal Collective Sung Tongs CD

Animal Collective: Avey Tare, Panda Bear (vocals, acoustic guitar).
On Sung Tongs, their first record distributed by FatCat, the two-man Animal Collective come on like sun-scorched acid eaters gathered around the campfire, strumming and grinning while they weave their material out of cyclical singalongs and tight harmonies. Surprisingly, both for fans as well as new additions, that marks a much more accessible sound for a group that had previously probed the outer limits of prog and psychedelia. (Still, back to basics is the right place for a collective that released three albums in 2003.) Immediately called to mind here are the Holy Modal Rounders and, to a lesser extent, the Incredible String Band. While Animal Collective certainly don't share the intimate knowledge of folk music or the expert musicianship of the Holy Modals or the ISB, they do understand the importance of repetition in reaching altered states, and they indulge in many naturalistic post-production enhancements to get there. "Leaf House" and "Who Could Win a Rabbit" open the record with a cozy atmosphere created from soaring harmonies and Beach Boys-type bungalow percussion. From there, with only a few exceptions, Sung Tongs devolves into the loosest of jam sessions, a midsummer night's dream of pixilated picking in similar company with the lengthy mid-album interlude ("Green Typewriters") during the Olivia Tremor Control's Dusk at Cubist Castle. Although the duo didn't record nearly enough material to justify checking out quite so soon, Sung Tongs is a striking record, a breath of fresh air within experimentalist indie rock. ~ John Bush
SUNG TONGS plays like a collection of campfire songs for the blissfully deranged. Champions of naive folk, swirling psychedelia, and playground-styled sing-song games, Animal Collective makes music that is difficult to categorize and even harder to resist. Acoustic guitars, primitive percussion, and harmonizing voices are the meat of the sound here, but the results go leagues beyond the sum of the parts. Circular repetitions, chattering choral interplay, wisps of speech and laughter, and surreal production tricks create a thoroughly disorienting and delightful listen.
From the goofy, fluttering phrasing of "Who Could Win a Rabbit" to the lilting harmonies in "College" (which could easily be an outtake from the Beach Boys' PET SOUNDS), Animal Collective oozes with a starry-eyed, back-to-childhood sensibility. But like anyone's youth, SUNG TONGS is full of monsters and things that go bump in the night. The ominous backwards voices in "Visiting Friends" and the thumping tribal menace of "We Tigers" leave little doubt that Animal Collective has one foot firmly on the dark side. This unique album has the feel of a long journey with no certain guarantees of return. For the bold and curious, SUNG TONGS is a must.Rolling Stone (p.118) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Animal Collective make their songs cackle with soulful eccentricity while dazzling you with deceptive chops and improvised manipulations....SUNG TONGS is its own creature, and it's got plenty of virtuosity and flair."
Uncut (p.85) - 5 stars out of 5 - "This is rustic and otherworldly music....SUNG TONGS is their sixth and best album....Rarely has contrived weirdness sounded so utterly bewitching."
Magnet (p.80) - "[O]n SUNG TONGS, they use their powers for good pop....As satisfying as Animal Collective can be when resistant and unkempt, domestication suits the band well."
Magnet (p.67) - Ranked #20 in Magnet's "The 20 Best Albums Of 2004" - "Animal Collective captured the sound of its own feral, autistic inner child."