Animal Collective

Brooklyn’s transcendental beatnik sound artists Animal Collective continue the tone of their brilliant Sung Tongs album on this EP, a collaboration with fragile-voiced British singer Vashti Bunyan. A touch of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, homespun folk, a hint of “meditation music” and Brian Eno’s early ambient compositions reach a confluence in Animal Collective’s avant-garde easy listening. The blend of elements concocted by this truly unique group includes cascading acoustic-guitar chords, eerie electronic soundscapes, hushed whispers, weird and fragmented vocal samples, and hand percussion. Carving its style out of crafty electronic processing and warm, organic raw material, the band creates innovative and genuinely calming, spiritual music that’s miles away from anything you’d ever see marketed as such.