Animal Collective – Spirit They're Gone Spirit They've Vanished / Danse Manatee

I had no idea this existed. I love Animal Collective so much but am deadly scared of Spirt They're Gone Spirit They've Vanished. Just bought a portable CD player and this is gonna be fun to listen to on it.

what's on the second disc? ten words ten words ten

Very, very good. The first CD, which was done by only Avey Tare and Panda Bear, is the most immediately accessible of the two releases on this compilation. Featuring some absolutely KILLER drumming from Panda Bear and possibly the most painful frequencies I've ever heard, SPIRIT THEY'RE GONE is nonetheless a fractured pop classic. "La Rapet" and "April and the Phantom" are my favorite tracks, but I'm quite fond of them all. Destined to become one of those long-forgotten classics that only a few thousand people ever have the fortune of hearing.

The second CD, DANSE MANATEE, features Avey and Panda but this time includes electronics wiz Geologist in the lineup, and is possibly the most confounding release in Animal Collective's catalogue. This is not to say it's bad--I'd actually place it on the same level of quality as HERE COMES THE INDIAN--but at least half of the songs are just "out there" in every sense of the phrase. You really have to be patient with it to develop any liking for any of the songs. But the melodies are definitely there, and underneath the almost no-fi production are, in essence, a bunch of really well-written pop tunes. I recommend Throwin the Round Ball, Essplode, and Ahhh Good Country.

This compilation is an absolute must-have for any experimental pop junkies out there, or for anyone who enjoys a side of the surreal on their musical dinner plate.