PANDA BEAR: Bros / ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: People (Fat-Cat Records)

PANDA BEAR
Bro's
12FAT059
Fat-Cat Records 2006
02 Tracks. 17mins47secs


ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
People
12FAT060 / CDFAT060
Fat-Cat Records 2006
04 Tracks. 18mins55secs


Buy PANDA BEAR: Bro's: 12”
Buy ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: People: CD
Fat-Cat Records | Paw Tracks

Panda Bear brought the Fat-Cat 2006 release schedule to a close with his solo debut for the label, Bro’s, so it was only fair that Animal Collective would lead the Cat’s 2007 parade with their latest offering. Both come only weeks after Paw Tracks re-released the band’s rare live album Hollinndagain.

Of these two releases, Panda Bear’s is definitely the most inspiring. Coming ahead of a split twelve inch with Excepter and his third solo album, both due on Paw Tracks, and recorded last year in Noah Lennox’s home in Lisbon, this EP features two versions of the title track. The original is a hypnotic thirteen minute epic composition built around two distinct sections which are seamlessly blended into one. The first part of the track is particularly characteristic of Noah’s solo work. Layered over a linear shimmering guitar strum, Lennox’s vocals, somewhat set slightly in the distance, carry essence of sixties psychedelic pop and give this piece a luscious warm hue, but, as the musical backdrop become meatier, a more tribal tone emerges and eventually takes over, pushing the track in a direction which recalls early Animal Collective work.

Formed of Black Dice’s Eric Copeland and fellow Animal Collective member Avey Tare, Terrestrial Tones evolve in a much more straightforward experimental field. Here, they give Bro’s a radical reworking by stripping it off its layers of sound and isolating Noah’s voice. The rest of the sonic space is filled with recurring elements which maintain a rhythmic effect all the way through. As these imperceptibly shift in and out of focus and the voice at times almost entirely disappears, Terrestrial Tones retain the atmospheric mood of the original but give the track a completely new dimension.

Although coming out over a year after Animal Collective’s enchanting Feels, three of the four songs featured on this EP, People, Tikwid and My Favorite Colors, were actually recorded during the same sessions. A slow-burning piece which builds up over its entire course, the title track shares more than a few common genes with songs like Banshee Beat or Loch Raven. Yet, as words are replaced with incantations and strummed drones seem to materialise, People recalls some of the band’s compositions circa Here Comes The Indian.

The short interlude My Favorite Colors further reinstates the Collective’s chanting tradition, proving that, despite investigating more accessible sonic terrains in recent years, the band have lost nothing of their boldness. In contrast, Tikwid is a much more upfront and openly happy song, with a short and snappy sparkling chorus while noises and samples constantly detract the mind from the piano and drums combination. The EP concludes with a live version of People, recorded in Boston during the band’s 2005 US tour.

While there is currently no information on a follow up to Feels and the forthcoming Panda Bear album is tentatively scheduled for winter 2007, the almost simultaneous arrival of these two EPs will undoubtedly be welcomed by fans. If neither Bro’s nor People depart radically from previous releases, the latter giving no real clue to which direction the band might be found digging their way next, they are both worthy addition to the Collective’s musical nebula.

Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir leaves Múm

Múm's vocalist Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir has left the band earlier this year it was announced on the Fat-Cat website. In a letter posted on the site, she says that she hasn't been working with 'the boys' since June 2005 and will not be featuring on the band's next album, due out next year. She has since been working on a modern dance piece with Eirikur Orri, who often plays with Múm, and with Animal Collective's Avey Tare, with whom she has recorded a few songs which could be released some time next year.

Kristin Anna's twin sister Gyða left the band before they began working on their third album, Summer Make Good.

MÚM: The Peel Session (Fat-Cat Records)

MÚM
The Peel Session
CDFAT057 / 12FAT057
Fat-Cat Records 2006
04 Tracks. 21mins14secs



Buy it: CD
Múm | Fat-Cat Records

Icelandic purveyors of fine dream soundtracks Múm fill the gap between their last record, released two years ago, and their next opus, due out next year, with the publication of their sole Peel Session, recorded at the world famous BBC Maida Vale studios back in 2002 following the release of their debut album, Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK. The session captures the band as they begin to blur the boundaries between their electronic roots and the more delicate acoustic and textural sound they have showcased in recent years. Here, while they still largely rely on electronics, as the opening sequence of Scratched Bicycle/Smell Memory attests, Múm dress their songs in slightly more contrasted tones.

Múm have developed a stage persona which has progressively been infiltrating their records, and this early testament clearly documents how the band’s sound lends itself perfectly to the live environment. The melodies retain the fresh envelop of the original versions yet the arrangements appear fuller and more ethereal, while the voices of twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir take on a much more vaporous and dreamy turn on Now There Is That Fear Again. As they combine electronic and acoustic instrumentation into tight soundscapes, Múm draw a series of sonic arabesques which contrast greatly with the more subdued originals. On the opening track, which pertinently brings two songs into one, Múm layer slices of glitches and noises over frenetic interferences and beats, yet the main melody floats well above, and when liberated from the cloud of ambient hums and buzzes, develops into a wonderfully strolling piece. Awake On A Train is a more straightforward and pastoral installment, with gentle vocals set against sharp electronics while an accordion traces a series of melodic themes and takes this track in a variety of directions.

Now There Is That Fear Again is the most elaborate track on here, with multiple layers of accordion dripping over the sisters’ vocals, guitars and live drums to form a vivid organic piece. The song’s gentle opening moments reveal a rich backdrop which flourishes further as the track progresses and more layers are applied. The Ballad Of The Broken String finds the band in more subdued and reflective mood and brings this all too short Peel session to a beautiful close.

Múm release 2002 Peel Session

Icelandic dreamy popsters Múm will be releasing their only Peel Session on 4 December on Fat-Cat, a little over two years after John Peel passed away. The session was recorded in 2002 following the release of the band's Yesterday Was Dramatic Today Is OK album. The EP, which was recorded by the original band line up, features live reworked versions of Scratched Bicycle / Smell Memory, Awake On A Train, Now There Is That Fear Again and The Ballad Of The Broken String. Múm are set to deliver their fourth album for Fat-Cat in Spring 2007.

Review coming soon.

MAX RICHTER: Songs From Before (130701 / Fat-Cat Records)

MAX RICHTER
Songs From Before
CD1305
130701 / Fat-Cat Records 2006
12 Tracks. 37mins18secs



Buy it: CD
Max Richter | Fat-Cat Records

British-born composer and musician Max Richter studied composition and piano at Edinburgh University and at the Royal Academy Of Music before pursuing his studies in Florence under the late Italian composer Luciano Berio. Richter then co-founded contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus in 1989, and spent ten years performing works by Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Graham Fitkins, Louis Andriessen, Brian Eno and many more with them. During this time, he developed an interest for sampling and electronic instrumentation, which led him to work with The Future Sound Of London on their 1996 album Dead Cities. His first album as a composer and musician, Memoryhouse, was recorded with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and released on the BBC Radio 3's Late Junction imprint in 2002.

It is not until his sophomore effort, The Blue Notebooks, published two years later on Fat-Cat's sub-label 130701, that Richter's profile became more prominent. While Richter's debut combined classical instrumentation and discreet electronics, the process was developed further on The Blue Notebooks to add grain and texture to the music. He has since been involved in a variety of projects, including producing the long-awaited second album by folk legend Vashti Bunyan.

For Songs From Before, Richter has teamed up with the same string ensemble as on The Blue Notebooks, augmented with readings from Japanese poet Haruki Murakami by Robert Wyatt. Very much like on its predecessors, Songs From Before is haunted by rampant melancholy and swirling melodic themes, creating a dense atmospheric backdrop for more subtle ornamental elements to flourish.

Richter shares a deep sense of minimalism with the likes of Steve Reich or Arvo Pärt, but there is a more cinematic and evocative feel to his compositions, at times evoking the work of Michael Nyman, or Ennio Morricone even. This contributes greatly in Richter's music being at once superbly forward-thinking and extremely accessible. From the sparse melodies of Song or Flowers For Yulia to the crystalline lines of Fragment, Autumn Music 1 or Sunlight and the dense torpor of Ionosphere, Time Passing or Lullaby, Richter plays tricks with the mind by constantly affecting the atmospheric canvas of his compositions. Wyatt's smoky voice surfaces at regular interval, adding grain to the spellbinding aspect of the music.

Songs From Before doesn't instantly appear that different from its predecessors, and in many ways, it is not. Richter is said to view his work as a composer as a long evolutionary process, and this album reflects this in the way it feels very much in tune with both Memoryhouse and The Blue Notebooks, but each one of these records has a particular density, and Songs From Before is no exception.

BATTLES / ANIMAL COLLECTIVE LIVE

Although I was wondering what the hell was going on the first time I played an Animal Collective album (Campfire Songs), I very quickly realised that this was no ordinary band. Since, they have continued to deliver the goods with each new album, seemingly ploughing the same groove, but each time with different tools and in a totally new way. Somehow though, I’ve managed to miss them every single time they’ve come to London, and they have been rather generous with their visits. After seeing that they were due to come to London again, at the Astoria, some time ago on the Fat-Cat website, and subsequently being reminded by Andrew a few weeks ago, we decided that whatever happened, this time we would go. Scott and his girlfriend (who I cannot remember the name just now and am mortified of it) joined us.

Adem, who was/is in Fridge with Kieran Hebden, was due to play tonight but ended up not to. On the bill though was Battles. Andrew had seen them live before and has been raving about their live performances for a fair while now, and although I was only tepid about the compilation of EPs that was released on Warp a few months ago, seeing them live offered a totally different angle to what they can do.

Crammed in a tiny space at the front of the stage, the keyboard player, guitarist and bass player seemed strategically positioned around the drummer, as to freely feed from the vast amount of energy exulting from this most focal of points. The band’s hypnotic post rock thing felt a lot more organic and raw than what I’d heard of them previously. It was interesting to see the constant exchange happening between the four members during their set, and how together they appeared. There were some wonderful moments when time felt suspended while they were weaving increasingly tight loops and grooves together into trance-like structures.

As far as this evening was concerned though, the piece de resistance was always going to be Animal Collective, and boy did they deliver. The set was largely centred around Feels, with Grass, The Purple Bottle, Did You See The Words and Banshee Beat making particularly lively appearances. Yet, if Feels is most definitely the Collective’s most accessible record by a mile, it is when they dabble in primal trance and febrile drones that they are at their most mind-blowing. Cast against the poppier songs of their repertoire were intense sonic experimentations build around dense electronic structures and hypnotic drums, sometimes simply linking two songs, at others just left to develop to full motion, progressively bringing the crowd on the brink of ecstasy before dropping us back down to earth with a deceptively simple pop melody.


Ani-mask Collective

Animal Collective have provided me with some of the best and most exhilarating music I’ve heard for years, and this gig at the Astoria certainly didn’t disappoint. There could have some more of the iridescence of Here Comes The Indian or the subdued lights of Sung Tong for instance, but in tonight’s incarnation (full Collective on stage), they have achieve near perfect balance between experiments and catchy moments.

Animal Collective please, go on Top Of The Pops and save the world!