Animal Collective debuted six years ago with an assortment of drones, strums, and autistic whippoorwill harmonies, but their drifting, woodsy efforts have gone on to develop a poppier bounce. Released in 2002 in a hand-painted, vinyl-only edition of 300, Hollinndagain looks back on seven early live tracks. The three campfire prayers taped at radio station WFMU crackle with melancholic, mouth-foaming euphoria (see the chest-slapping chants and booby-trap percussion of “Pride and Fight”). Club recordings from New York and their first U.S. tour with Black Dice are less dynamic, but incidental crowd noises add a feral urgency.
Now Hear This: Animal Collective – “Forest Gospel” DOWNLOAD MP3