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See Animal Collective’s Avey Tare Debut Slasher Flicks Supergroup

Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks Pony Tail Deradoorian

Within Animal Collective, Avey Tare plays the puckish foil to Panda Bear’s choirboy charms, “pushing the prickly and eerie side of the band’s avant-pop,” as noted in SPIN’s review of his 2010 solo debut Down There. While Dave Portner’s approach has certainly evolved since then, his brand new band drives home the idea that he’s the one making all that glorious racket. Earlier this year, he announced the imminent arrival of Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks, along with a freaky tale:

“A group of three hippies on a road trip through the backwaters of 2013’s rural music scene fall prey to a murderous cannibalistic band,” Portner wrote in a press release, “including a leather-masked, guitar-wielding Avey Tare, his knife-wielding keyboard player Angel Deradoorian, and their cannibal chief drummer and decaying grandfather Jeremy Hyman.” For the indie-rock genealogy buffs, those last two are late of Dirty Projectors and Ponytail, respectively.

The experimental three-piece made their live debut at Baltimore’s Metro Gallery Thursday night (June 6) and can be seen jamming mightily in the clip above. There are elements of Tortoise’s post-rock, deep-groove prog, lilting pop, clashing punk, and all-around strangeness in the mix — all unexpected, which, really, should be expected at this point. Slasher Flicks are headed overseas after stopping off in Brooklyn.

Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks tour dates:

June 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands Gallery
June 20 – Brighton, England @ Green Door Store
June 21 – London, England @ The Lexington
June 22 – Camber Sands, England @ All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival