The Collegian

Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Detour

Media Credit: Photo courtesy of www.magnetmagazine.com

Media Credit: www.amazon.com

The New York City-based band Animal Collective's sound varies and bends between genres as much as the focuses of their albums do. Although they are perhaps best known for their clashing electronics, loudly strummed guitars, and wailing vocals; Campfire Songs, a reissue of the 2003 album of the same name, ditches most of these traits in favor of an Animal Collective version of a campfire sing-along.

Campfire Songs was recorded in one take using three mini disc players set outside on a screen porch in Maryland during fall, where temperatures are known to be frigid. The recording captures both the musicians and the ambient sounds of the nature surrounding them.

The minimalistic sound of the album evokes a sense of quietude. This isn't to say it is bad; it just doesn't involve the clashing rhythm of their other releases. However, what Campfire Songs does succeed in doing is creating a mood; it surrounds the listener in a warm, melancholic mood evoking the primal nature of a campfire.

"Queen in My Pictures" opens the album discretely, with vague incoherent vocals, which steadily gains momentum. This segues into the next track "Doggy," which is the most upbeat sounding of the album. However, its lyrics, along with most of the lyrics on the album, are best described as a subdued sadness. "Two Corvettes" end in a car crash and "Moo Rah Rah Rain" revolves around a family on the brink of destruction. "De Soto de Son" closes the album with plucked guitars; it is perhaps the most folk-styled song of the album.

Campfire Songs is above all a deeply personal experience. For some it will require at least a second listen before it begins to make sense, for others it will just sound like noise. Animal Collective has stripped down their sound to the bare minimum, proving above all that their music is about the conveyance of human emotions.

Grade: B

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