Elliott's real time reactions to the pre-stream of Centipede Hz

Hello Readers!

I know it has been a long time since I have posted an article. My only excuse is that I have had a very busy summer (I got a job). That being said, there is no time like the present to get back into the swing of writing, and no band like Animal Collective (besides Man Man) to make me want to talk about music. So here goes everything (and by that I mean nothing).

So as many of you know, AC is releasing their new masterpiece album on September 4th.
As those of you who liked our Facebook know (see what I did there), I am so excited for this album that I made my doctor think I had rabies won't talk about anything else. You might also know that they streamed the album for the first live on Sunday night. Well, while I was listening for the first time, I wrote down the thoughts that ran through my mind. I have since listened to the album 7 times (I am currently on my 8th), so I have a MUCH better idea of what I think of the album, but I will save that for my full review in late September.

So it is my pleasure to present to you what ran through my mind as I listened to Centipede Hz, with some comments added (in blue italics) later to give you some context. (Warning: my English is broken and I can't spell)

 

Before the album started, the Geologist played a mix of songs that inspired the sound of the new album. This was very confusing for me, because I had no idea if the album had started yet.

OH MY GOD WHEN DOES IT START
WTF IS THIS MOONJOCK?!?!
no... that was just another intro... DAMMIT
IS THIS MOONJOCK?!?!
Nope....
OMFG ITS STARTING!!!!! a'oihfq[oihgqow

01 Moonjock
AWESOME start, heavy hitting drums and riffs
slowish but hard. 
referring to the style of the song
typical ac crazy crushed stuff together
very compressed and hard to understand, but good - very dense
oh man those drum hits are SEXY
i love the random noise too
fuck yeas, AC got sucked into a computer / blender
"what!"
I wrote down lyrics I liked a lot (or understood) in quotes
omg funcky breakdown of wtf?
sudden cutout, then lots of random stuff, very AC transition, lots of transitions i am guessing
kinda mini songs
The transitions are like mini songs, a la Fall Be Kind

02 Today's Supernatural
oh man, i know this one
I own the single and have listened to it countless times over the last month
man this visuals are trippy
The stream came with special visuals for each song
mixture of rollercoaster, distorted kids from home movies, and MRI pictures of the brain. oh and a really old cartoon
probably the least excessible AC album I have ever heard at the moment, we will see the rest
OH but this song! its great, like driving at 150 mph barely holding on , any slip will makes you crash.
Aw... its ending, now for rosie oh, been wondering how this transition was gonna work, cause i like the "mini song"

03 Rosie Oh    
- This song is a weird one, most of my thoughts are me not understanding what is going on
sweet! the strings hold on in to new song,
OH MAN, i love this.. wait...this is weird
eh all ac is weird, but in a good way
oooohhhhh i like this songs breakdown thingy
oooooohhhhhhhhh, fuzzy funky riff at the end,
some samples and "johnny walker"  
Describing the end of the song

04 Applesauce
aight, some fuzz going on
sounds like musical engine taking off  or like a rocket ship of sound
fruit in space visuals
oh man i really like this song
how to explain it? its like warm and fuzzy and happy
A pretty good description actually
less chaotic then the previous songs, but still out there
AH I LOST THE STREAM
OH THANK GOD IT BACK      
counting up 1-4, but with stuff inbetween, super cool
The lyrics count up in the lyrics, it's cool
fade in and out switch
Transistion

05 Wide Eyed
more fuzz and stuff, sounds like a crazy bass is building
nope i was wrong, no base
god this is the worst band to do this too    
I complain about how hard it is to describe AC from here on
the worst album by them too XP
Yeah, this album is particularly confusing on the first listen
too much is imposibble to describe at the top of my head
It gets easier on later listens
this one has a great bum bum...bum bum... bum bum...
Trying to describe a pulsating bass sound
"wide eyed" over and over, more noise takes over
oh man, time is getting messed up
AC - the closest you can get to an acid trip without doing acid
laughing and "be okay" over and over
I really liked describing the ends of songs a lot....

06 Father Time
the flashing colors hurt my eyes
the video gave me a headache at this point
this is a quiter simpler song                  
nice
slows down a lot at the end, whispers over and over
a breath of rest, glorious silence
the silence at the end of the song is a welcome change of pace           

07 New Town Burnout      
I sort of zoned out on the rest of the album, less comments                 
starting back up,     
music picks back up                                              
oooohhh interesting percussion going down
buzzing like guitar
kinda calmish, seems nostalgic and reflective who knows

08 Monkey Riches
waves in image perfect for song
You should check out this song with visuals, its fitting
flows in an out, crashing then lulling, very soothing in that way, but not slow at all
exactly like a wave, crash, drain, pause, rush, crash
breakdown gets chaotic flare, its good
same with ending

09 Mercury Man
rushing drums and electronic like intro
then changes, like everysong on this album XP
the intros REALLY throw me off    
"sounds like machines talking to me through the phone"
rolling drums
"just let it slip like mercury, just leave me be like mercury"
"it might be somewhere, it might be no where"

10 Pulleys
nice kinda piano in the background
simple beat, swelling lyrics
oooooooo , tricks you into thinking the song is over

11 Amanita
oh man im feeling this one
uses quiet very well
OH NO LOST THE STREAM AGAIN
oh good its back
holy shit! skeleton dance, sily simphony (referenced in my DSO post)    
LOST STREAM AGAIN ARRR
back
GOD DAMMIT LOSING STREAM
oh man this is fucking awesome
awesome bussing and chaotic
like graze of derek, but not the same
i will have to listen to lyrics, but the song sounds very regretful
"what are you gonna do? what are you gonna do?"
ending is sort of a crash, winding down.
SOOO GOOD
aww... its over... :_(


I hope you enjoyed my broken thoughts, I know I laughed re-reading them.
If there is one thing to take from what I wrote, it is that Centipede Hz is not an accessible album. It can be very hard to get into on your first listen, mainly because it is hard to tell what is going on.
That being said, I highly recommend the album. Each listen just makes me enjoy the album more and more.

Pick up Centipede Hz on Sept 4th or visit  http://radio.myanimalhome.net/  to check it out pre-release.