there will always be one more song for you

I'm going to start off today with a few words on lastnight's Animal Collective show, directed at those of you who haven't had the, erm, pleasure of seeing these maniacs perform. Firstly, don't go see the Collective expecting to hear your favorite "songs" per se, especially the jangly forest music of Sung Tongs. There was nary an acoustic guitar in sight. It's my understanding after reading other show reviews that they prefer to explore "soundscapes" on stage, with the set often devolving into blankets of brainpunching effects loops, and I can attest to that. That is to say, unless you're just really open-minded by nature or you plan on going to see them after smoking a lump of opium or under the influence of some other exotic psychotropic, the experience could potentially try one's patience.

But don't get me wrong. The highs more than made up for the lows. When they segued into "Banshee Beat" after what seemed like hours of droning noise, it was almost epic. Other highlights included the relatively catchy closer "The Purple Bottle," and "We Tigers," during which Panda Bear provided some ridiculous neo-tribal drumming and the rest of the band flailed around on stage screaming and chattering like demented orangutans. I was surprised that so many in the audience tolerated their antics and actually summoned them back for an encore, but I'm glad they did. They returned to the stage for a spacey rendition of "Kids On Holiday," and I left the club feeling both enlightened and a little stupider, and I think that's just what they intended.

NOW ON TO THE FRESH ROCK & ROLL



I was initially going to post a track by last night's opening band, Iceland's Storsveit Nix Noltes (check back next week for that one), but after looking back on the night I've decided to go with something a little more familiar.

When I was a young, glue-eating scamp in middle school, my brother's punk band the Roust-A-Bouts were the center of my musical universe. I distinctly remember the excitement over a gig they landed with Joe Christmas (of Tooth&Nail Records fame.) The memory has stuck with me mostly because Joe Christmas was the first band I heard someone describe as "indie rock," some 4 years before the genre would come to dominate my cd collection. But Joe Christmas is also special to me because their singer and drummer would go on to form Summer Hymns, an underappreciated band from the Athens, GA psychedelic pop scene most often associated with Elephant Six Records. Today's featured track is off A Celebratory Arm Gesture, the band's second LP, and it shows traces of some of my favorite E6 bands while remaining decidedly unique. The horns that enter at 3:15 are reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel or Olivia Tremor Control. And it's no coincidence that the badass bassline channels Of Montreal - the bassist left OM to join Summer Hymns. The sound is folkier and earthier than the bands I've mentioned above, and I attribute that to singer/songwriter Zach Gresham's straightforward, heartfelt lyrics and Neil Young-ish tenor. Save this one for a sunny day on a hammock with someone that makes you happy.

Summer Hymns - Something's Going On