Customer Reviews

Sung Tongs

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this album is dangerous. ive had no less than 3 psychic meltdowns in the past 6 days after listening to tracks 5 and 7 over and over and over..............................<

A fierce departure from last year's highly experimental free-folk release, Here Comes the Indian, Sung Tongs finds the Animal Collective engaging in beautifully bizarre pop and surreal campfire singalongs that recall The Microphones' The Glow, Pt. 2 as often as they do the ideal American folk of the Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel. Where Here Comes the Indian paraded in forestal mayhem and found-sound eccentricities, Sung Tongs opts for folky ambience, a delicate, buoyant pace, and a flair for soaring melody that makes it by far the group's most accessible record to date.

Rock music at its most experimental has the potential to be thrilling. Think Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets; the first time you heard the romantic mumble of R.E.M.'s Murmur; Laurie Anderson's minimalist explorations of post-modern life on Big Science. These were artists that found structures to communicate their needs: Eno's dense glam-metal; Michael Stipe's open-souled mumble; Anderson's reductive dissonance and humor. Animal Collective, which is comprised of Panda Bear and Avey Tare, are looking for their structure on their second release Sung Tongs. It begins thrillingly with "Leaf House" and "Who Could Win a Rabbit" - songs that might have been written by Philip Glass on acid. After that it's folksy weirdness and sound collages and tape manipulations that sound like a baby singing through a mouth-tube. Depending on your taste for strangeness you might just love it. I have my reservations, and love it after a lot of exposure to the mainstream. But not all the time.

This album is dangerous. ive had no less than 3 psychic meltdowns in the last 5 days after listening to tracks 5 and 7 over and over and over .............................

If everyone listened to the first few tracks and then ran to the computer to write a review, you'd get a long list of 5 star reviews. The beginning is obnoxious, strong, genius, and completely unique. The majority of the album that follows, however, is comprised of instrumental tracks capable of destroying the beauty of the beginning.

One of the most important releases of the year that most folks will never have the oppertunity to hear. I suggest you simply purchase this essential piece of work and let it work its magic on you..............

I have no idea what's going on throughout most of this album, but whatever it is, it's incredibly captivating and often beautiful in its own way. This is the soundtrack to a Wes Anderson film if he was really into hallucinogens. "Who Could Win A Rabbit" is perhaps the easiest starting point.

i geek out whenever this band comes up in a conversation. it's true- there isn't anything to compare them with. you can hear influences of can and bugskull, but animal collective's sound is entirely their own. if you ever get a chance to see them perform, by all means take it! i took a friend for her birthday, and we had to run out as soon as they finished performing. we didn't want to see the next band, or any other band for a long time after a performance like that. we kept asking ourselves, 'how did they meet each other, and how did they know they could do that?'
definitley get a copy of this album- the others aren't as 'listenable' and might disappoint the listener who isn't already a big fan.

this album soars. it's unique and fun and full of childish energy and probably the best record of the year. sing it.