Animal Collective - Here Comes the Indian +Album Reviews

A Classic In Modern Experiment

Slim Twig | Cananda | 06/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just giving my stars. Just a message to all those who beleive there is are people who listen to music just "because no one else can," and that that would some how make them cool. The people who like this "unlistenable" music are not at all concerned with you. Go listen to your Billy Joel, we won't criticize you for it."

A staggering wild beast

Stowaway | Australia | 10/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dear Fan of Here Comes The Indian,

I am writing this because I have recently fully realised the beauty, majesty, and utter brilliance of Here Comes The Indian!!

I've been going through a bit of an Animal Collective phase over the last week or two and last night i was listening to Here Comes The Indian, and it all made sense! I have always put it on occasionally cause it's such a twisted sonic experience, but i never really felt like it had penetrated into something deeper...

Now, almost two years after obtaining it i have finally realised how completely peculiar, primal, and pure it is...

I remembered that you were a big fan, and for a long time wondered why you gave it so much more attention than sung tongs or any of their other stuff..

so now i understand... its just amazing that an album that sounds so deeply rooted in nature, fauna, and tribalism can also sound so unique and modern... it is a strange and vast beast that has hibernated for a long time in my mind, but has now awoken to bare its teeth and stamp its feet..

and i love it.

Stowaway"

Cave Music

W. Stryjewski | Arlington VA | 04/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I learned in grade school that the first evidence of art in human race was cave painting in France. Art has always been influenced by music, for example Piet Modrian loved boogie woogie jazz. You could speculate what music those cave artists had playing in your head when they painted or you could listen to Animal Collective. The primal pounding, kinetic out-of-world pinging and the echo fuzz based guitar interplay dance with a squeaking voice to create a celebration of weirdness. Those cave painters probably came across some magic root or mushroom that altered their perception of the world. This in turn change their music's pitch and time signatures randomly. Chanting and squirking like little extinct creatures adds to the Animal Collective charm. Don't miss this record."

Dance, dance

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 10/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"About halfway through the first song of "Here Comes the Indian," it becomes pretty obvious just where the name comes from -- it takes on the form of a psychedelic tribal chant.

Animal Collective was only just using that name when they put out this eerie collection of experimental music, which sounds a lot like some sort of ancient ritual captured on tape. Sights, sounds and smells are all evoked by sound alone, and while it's not very accessible, it is entrancing if you're open-minded (or stoned).

It opens with "Native Belle," which begins with an almost inaudible tapping. A wavering violin joins in, along with the sound of voices murmuring so softly that they merge into a white-noise hum. Then the song begins. Stops. Begins again, as a clashing, swirling mass of eerie voices, wild rhythms and mad drumming.

After that, the band explores other kinds of experimental music -- rapid-fire drumming that ends with soft chants and handclapping, stately buzzing soundscapes bursting with odd noises, and the sound of howling, ghostly voices over a heavy wash of synth. The perfect Halloween song.

"Two Sails on a Sound" is deeply unnerving with its dark piano and nature noises, which make you feel like you're adrift on a dangerous river. It ends with a clashing tribal-rock number overlaid with distorted voices, and finally with the buzzing, shifting balladry of "Too Soon," which blossoms out into a bizarre hallucinatory sound.

Well, "Here Comes the Indian" is not a bounce-your-bottom-while-you-drive kind of album. The Animal Collective had already done other experimental albums (under different names) by the time they put this out -- except this one has a cohesive theme.

Sit back and visualize fires, dark forests, fast-flowing rivers, cave paintings, and that wintry dawn sky. Fuzz guitar and tribal drums form the basis of this music, along with thick, gauzy synth that seems to muffle the music. And they pepper it with all sorts of sounds -- quacks, dripping water, crickets, and eerie vocals that never quite form words.

With a primitive catchiness and wild energy, "Here Comes the Indian" is a pretty vibrant experimental album. Just don't expect to be able to dance to it."

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	Animal Collective Here Comes the Indian Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock, Classic Rock
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