Album Review

Animal Collective – Peacebone

• 21st Aug 2007

First instincts are to eject the CD.

Maybe check if there is something wrong with the disc. No, that really is how it should sound. An unsettling electronic pulsing suggests that perhaps the CD had been damaged in the post, exposed to high powered magnets or dipped in something corrosive.

Fears that it may damage your stereo are natural but unfounded.

When the pulsing subsides slightly it falls into a rough appropriation of a tune and is soon joined by a simple drum beat. The vocals that follow are perhaps the most accessible part of the track, a flighty tone and a sing-song rhythm that you would quite happily sing along with if you could actually figure out what was being sung. Further listens will help decipher words but still leave you struggling to find a meaning within them.

And that is the basics of Peacebone laid out for you, there is far much more to discover within the track, be it the rich tapestry of bizarre sounds woven into the song or the deciphering of the (again) bizarre lyrics, such a challenging track will surely provoke diverse reaction.

This is a slice of experimental music for the masses, equal parts eclectic and accessible.