Animal Collective - 'Campfire Songs' (Paw Tracks) Released 01/02/2010

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One good thing about a band finding mainstream acceptance several years into their existence is the volume of back catalogue for new devotees to bite into.

Any Animal Collective novices blown away by last year’s superlative ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ and equally impressive EP ‘Fall Be Kind’ may have some serious difficulties linking the band responsible for ‘Campfire Songs’ to the current edition, although the line-up is exactly the same (as with ‘Merriweather...’, Geologist sat out the recordings for the album). Instead of the seamless union of digi-dub, sweet dream-pop melodies and hard-grinding beats, ‘Campfire Songs’ – originally released in 2003 in small pressing on tiny Catsup Plates label – is entirely acoustic, comprised of five lengthy tracks that move forward at such a sluggish pace you’d sometimes think the record had got stuck. And if that premise seems to pack a reasonable amount of hit parade potential, consider this: these semi-improvised slo-mo jams were recorded on a Maryland porch in genuine audio verite stylee, with wind and traffic noises occasionally overtaking the gentle cooing and delicate strums that these tracks are made of.

Not exactly the kind of stuff mass audiences are made of, then. Yet there’s a whole lot more to ‘Campfire Songs’ than the underwhelming – to put it politely – first spin might indicate. Initially seemingly the epitome of easy listening, albeit in the sense that it’s very, very easy for these ghostly tracks not to register at all on the listener, the album soon reveals some hidden, hypnotic depths.

The two epic concluding tunes are particularly strong. The horizontal drift of ‘Moo Rah Rah Rain’ contains the exact same enchanting elements as more recent pulse-slowing AC cuts ala ‘On a Highway’ off ‘Fall Be Kind’, only served in a form so skeletal it’d only be topped in stripped-down stakes by pure silence. The sleepy harmonies and gentle picking of ‘De Soto De Son’, meanwhile, nods towards the band’s occasionally overlooked interests in rootsy Americana ala country-era Grateful Dead.
Add these earthy ingredients to the paint-stripping electronic excesses of the band’s first few platters, undertake some judicious balancing, and you’ve reached the harmonious coexistence of harsh electronics and warm, cuddly sweetness Animal Collective are now universally renowned for. But is ‘Campfire Songs’ of historical interest only, or does it actually work as a listening experience? That’s for you to decide. Newcomers should undoubtedly sample ‘Feels’ (2005) or ‘Strawberry Jam’ (2007) before venturing here, but long-term fans need this to get a 360 degree view of this remarkable band.