While Animal Collective is a huge band and Panda Bear has recently gained attention as a solo artist with his off the cuff album Person Pitch, my favorite work by these folks is the first album by Avey Tare and Panda Bear Spirit They’ve Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished (2000).
I like this album more for a variety of reasons. The first is that it is heavily piano based. I like piano and I especially like these stylings. As is fitting for the instrument, it’s used to either brighten a sonic overload and make it more rich or to elegantly pace and restrain a song until it’s ready to really pop. All the songs here are much more experimental in spirit than the more popular Animal Collective / Panda Bear material, but the piano balances the songs out well and reveals that there’s actual songcraft at work.
Second, I enjoy the fact that the lyrics are imaginative. I prefer this rambling storybook Animal Collective lyrical style above their vaguely spiritual / inpirational-toned lyrics in their breakout albums Sung Tongs and Feels – though I do feel like Panda Bear did a better job, though not perfect, with this style in his Person Pitch. Perhaps that spells good news for future Animal Collective works.
If you enjoyed Person Pitch, I think this is the perfect time to revisit or discover Spirit They’ve Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished.
