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Animal Collective at HMV Forum Review

Animal Collective

3/5
Bands: Animal Collective
Venue: HMV Forum
Gig: Animal Collective
Gig date: 24th March 2009
Posted on 17th April 2009 by johnbeyer

Hippies are back. Not wrinkled ex-flower children, dusting off their flares in anticipation of this summer's 40th anniversary of Woodstock, but a young generation of bands in touch with the freewheeling spirit of the late 60s, and a relaxed attitude to beards. The easy-on-the-ear populist wing, Seattle's Fleet Foxes, pastiche some of the period-'s chief harmony singers, notably the Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills & Nash, so effectively they've landed a slot supporting the latter's sparring partner, Neil Young, at Hyde Park in June. May sees the release of Veckatimest, the terrific third album from Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear (cuddly names drawn from the natural world are a prerequisite here), a record so keen on communing with things wild and free that its highlight, "Dory", suggests the protagonists "swim around" in the manner of the titular fish. The fashion sense of many of these artists hints at "the great outdoors" but their physiques say "would struggle with a two-man tent", even if one member of Animal Collective, this loose movement's swirling, neo-psychedelic heart, has recorded a solo tune, "Comfy in Nautica", named after a manufacturer of particularly sturdy jackets. This softness, always an important aspect of psychedelia, is crucial, as is the timing: such bands, all American, emerged as their native country's omnipotence began to fade. Collectively, they amount to nothing less than a rejection of the values of the Bush era, eschewing any call-to-arms in favour of a refusal to get involved at all, instead preferring to dream up their own utopias. "Am I really all the things that are outside of me?" is the question about materialism posed by "Taste", from Animal Collective's much fanfared eighth album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. It's an oldie, but worth reiterating post credit-crunch. It's also the byproduct of the band members' idyllic upbringing rather than any overt political agenda. Noah Lennox, who calls himself Panda Bear, David Portner, alias Avey Tare, Brian Weitz, aka the Geologist and Josh Dibb, also known as Deakin, met as children in rural Baltimore County, their closeness cemented during long afternoons knocking about the countryside. They've stayed in touch ever since, surviving university, as well as Lennox's move to Lisbon while the others settled in Baltimore, New York and Washington DC. It's been suggested that the quartet's eight-year career, which ambles through the hinterlands of weird folk, krautrock and all manner of electronic music in search of fresh highs, is really the story of their continued friendship. Live, it certainly seems that way. Tonight might be by far their biggest UK show to date but there's no obvious desire to capitalise on the fervour surrounding Merriweather, released back in January and greeted in some quarters as if it were a seismic moment in recorded sound rather than an excellent but still esoteric art project. Despite the attention, multi-instrumentalists Lennox, Portner and Weitz (Dibb is on a temporary break) are, to their credit, still sticking to the original game plan: amuse each other. As for everyone else, well, you're either on board, happy to immerse yourself in the dry ice-induced gloom and wait out a buzz-killing, formless and needlessly drawn-out middle section that includes new track "What Would I Want Sky", or you're not. However, the trio themselves are having a fine time, pottering about a set that's very 70s Dr Who, all protruding wires, rumpled white sheets and giant ball hovering above centre stage that's blasted with suitably far-out projections, ranging from rippling water to what may well have been a giant bag of Liquorice Allsorts. Portner's keen on losing himself in percussion duties, while Weitz's fervent nodding-dog routine is enhanced by a head-mounted torch, an echo of 90s dance duo Orbital and in keeping with the general air of stumbling into one of the more agreeably odd tents at Glastonbury. However, when the band remembers there are others present, and allow the audience a little more access into their peculiar head space, it's easy to see what the fuss is about. All of this evening's properly ecstatic, hands-in-air moments are ignited by the rhythmic oomph of the Merriweather material, which betrays both the increased influence of the melody-loving Lennox and the come-one, come-all aspect of vintage dance tunes. The peak is "My Girls", which nicks the glittery keyboard riff from Frankie Knuckles' 1989 house classic "Your Love" and whose lyrics, detailing the conflict between Lennox's principles and the need to put a roof over the head of his family, signal the beginning of Animal Collective's engagement with an encroaching adult world. It's an on-going negotiation, clearly further along on record than live, and a conflict which, given their history, is as likely to see them spinning off in some outrageously difficult new direction as creeping slightly closer to the mainstream. Which is how it should be. The predictable is for those with more impoverished imaginations. Gareth Grundy http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/mar/29/animal-collective-forum-review

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