Climb Through The Void

My main takeaway from this fall’s solo releases by Avey Tare and Panda Bear is that both of these artists produce better work together in Animal Collective than when left to their own devices. I suppose this is a pretty standard thing for solo work by artists who are part of famous bands, but in this case, the difference may provide some insight into Animal Collective’s unusual group dynamic.

Most obviously, Avey and Panda’s most recent offerings are considerably looser and less polished than their most recent Animal Collective work, which was by far the most accomplished music of their career. It’s pretty reasonable to expect that they’d back away from pop songwriting and discipline on their solo projects. For one thing, it gives them a chance to work through musical tangents that may not be right for their regular gig, which suddenly has to live up to very high critical and commercial expectations. Also, part of the point of doing solo work when you have a full-time band is the opportunity to cut loose without compromising your ideas. All the same, the diminished craft on their solo material makes me wonder how they edit their work when they are writing as part of a band. Is it simply a matter of the two men having excellent creative chemistry? Is the tunefulness and focus of their post-Feels work something we can attribute to the presence of the Geologist, whose function in the group has always been somewhat difficult to discern? Hmm.

Avey Tare “Ghost of Books”

Avey Tare’s first proper solo album Down There is a strange, murky set of songs that cycle through some fairly dark emotions and experiences. It’s still Avey though, so the material has an oddball levity that keeps it from getting too bleak. Panda Bear tends to produce prettier, more heart-tugging music, but Avey Tare is much better with melody and structure, and has a stronger singing voice. This is an advantage for his solo work, though he is also more indulgent and eager to sabotage his compositions with ugly musical elements that distract from his strengths. This seems to be at least some of the point here, though — it’s supposed to be this uncomfortable, sorta icky album. However, despite some songs like “Ghost of Books” and “Lucky 1” that push hooks to the foreground (or at least close enough the foreground to click), the album is easier to admire than love.

Buy it from Amazon.

Panda Bear “You Can Count On Me”

Unlike Avey, Panda Bear faces high expectations for his solo material as well as whatever he does as part of Animal Collective. His album Person Pitch is already considered a classic; to many people he is the star attraction of the group, despite the fact that Avey has traditionally been the primary lead vocalist. I’ll admit that I’m something of an Avey partisan — I generally prefer his long melodies, spirited intensity, and thoughtful lyrics over Panda’s heavily treated vocals, simplistic words, and penchant for extended drones. Even still, Panda has an emotional directness that can be difficult to resist, and I can understand how for many people that trumps his collaborator’s more nuanced and playful approach. “You Can Count On Me,” the a-side of the second single from the forthcoming Tomboy album, is close to what people seem to want from his work, but it seems a bit off and underdeveloped. It’s more like a sketch than a fully formed song — pleasant but not entirely resonant. It’s too nice to be entirely dismissed, but to some extent this comes across like a parody of Panda’s aesthetic rather than an example of what he can do when he’s fully inspired or working with partners who complement his voice and/or compensate for his shortcomings.

Buy it from Amazon.