Making Sound With Bones

"Sung Tongs are tongs about returning to an old house, doing nothing with friends, or making sound with bones."

So goes the liner notes to Sung Tongs, and while this may be a self-consciously cryptic and absurdist thing to say, it makes a lot of sense. The album doesn't seem to be about much of anything--at least what lyrics I can discern, anyway--yet it manages, through its use of acoustic instruments, odd sounds, and otherworldly vocals, to provoke many of the images and feelings above.

The popularity and critical love for Sung Tongs can't be overstated. I suspect it was probably the port of entry for many now-diehard fans because, during the brief obsession with 'psych-folk' that arose in '03 and '04, this album was considered one of the seminal pillars. To be sure it is a grand statement from a band who had produced wildly varying albums of scattered or focused brilliance. And yet, there's more to it than any of this.

Sung Tongs only features Avey Tare and Panda Bear, yet is considered an Animal Collective release. I make no significance out of this, other than the other members were busy with personal projects or didn't feel they 'fit' into the music contained herein. However, I think of the album as a kind of 'distillation' of their acoustic/natural side, as opposed to their electronic/unnatural side. That's not to say that Avey Tare and Panda Bear are the acoustic/folk members, but more that they're the two main creative forces of the band (a claim I think is inarguable given their solo work) and are most comfortable with this style of music. But I digress.

The album begins with 'Leaf House', a heavily vocal based stomper with light acoustic strumming and thumping drums. It's important to establish this song as the genesis of modern Animal Collective, because:
1) It is a song, as opposed to many older albums which had no definable 'songs.'

2) It is catchy and has definite pop influences; I've met at least three people who started to like the band or first heard of the band through this song.

3) It features the extreme vocal dynamics of Avey Tare and, to a lesser extent, Panda Bear, and pointed the way to the vocals being the most important element in the mix rather than just one element (plus you can sort of tell what they're singing now).

4) It has the extremely distinctive Animal Collective sound which never obviously sounds acoustic or electronic. Actually, the album has no electric guitar at all, but I didn't even notice until I listened closely.

5)'Leaf House' is the single best song they had done up to this point, and the single best song on the album.

From this starting point, we get the plaintive, beautiful double tracked acoustic guitars of 'The Softest Voice', the intense, dreamlike 'Kids On Holiday', the psych-folk epic 'Visiting Friends', the Beach Boys-esque short vocal showcase 'College', and the child-like, whimsical 'Sweet Road' (which was, actually, featured in a Crayola commercial). Though Sung Tongs feels quite long, and 'Whaddit I Done' is a plodding closer with an annoying wah-wah vocal, it still possesses a flow and startling variation from such basic instrumentation that it truly is a masterpiece.

As I hinted at before, Sung Tongs is perhaps the major turning point in Animal Collective's career. I love or at least find interesting elements in their earlier works, but Sung Tongs truly showed them to be a talented band capable of greatness. At the same time, it laid the foundation for their future, from its clearer, more up front vocals (and bizarre, incredible vocal work--check out 'We Tigers') to its emphasis on songs and melody ('Who Could Win A Rabbit', released as a single, is strangely addictive) and evocative overall sound (this album makes for a great listen on introspective, sunny afternoons).

In the end, if you're going to get into Animal Collective, this is the place to start. It's not my favorite Animal Collective album (that would be Strawberry Jam), but it's honestly the best introduction to the band because it isn't as extreme and experimental as other albums and has some of their best songs. There really is something special about this album, just as there is with any album where a talented band finally pulls it all together and produces their first unconditional masterpiece.