Taking Sides: Pitchfork vs. Ian Johnson

The B-side of Animal Collective's "Who Could Win a Rabbit" single arrives suspiciously near the eminent release of Brian Wilson's Smile. Although the Brooklyn outfit couldn't be further from the lysergic, bleached-out sun of Wilson's Californian muse, they have his haze down pat. This track sounds like it could have come from one of the countless bootlegs of those late '66 sessions when Van Dyke Parks, David Anderle, Brian and the gang would gather for candlelit seances at Western Studios, press record, and end up with something the next morning that was not only too strange for the Beach Boys, but so traumatic for Brian he wouldn't revisit it for 35 years.

Here, the primitive electronic percussion thuds away under a mantra of falsetto harmonies and a rising, deceptively simple guitar chord progression. The only lyrics are "she's gonna have a baby," and the rest of the melody takes its form in "do," "num" and other single-syllable utterances. The vocals are, like many on Sung Tongs, clear and arranged into soaring leads with modest counterpoint, yet ragged, unconcerned with sounding very "perfect." The song is undeveloped, with as much or more time devoted to the monolithic drum pulse as the actual melody, but it feels pure and wild, and typically Animal Collective. [Dominique Leone; August 2nd, 2004]

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You're already going to buy Sung Tongs. If you're not, you should; I was at a bit skeptical of the hype at first, but the b-side to the "Who Could Win A Rabbit?” single has convinced me. "Baby Day" spends half of its length on an intro that sounds like Wolf Eyes-esque pulsing drone and clatter until the harmonies break in, channeling The Beach Boys at their trippiest. The song changes character in an instant, from glum and eerie to ecstatic and high, though the pulsing and sparse percussion never leave. The refrain has been stuck in my head all week. Check it.
[Ian Johnson]