Banshee Beats

Objective fact: Animal Collective are great. Last year's Strawberry Jam, without question, was one of my favourite albums of the year. It seems like a lot of people have touched this already, but Animal Collective have a 4-song EP, Water Curses, dropping in a couple weeks. But you know it's already available for aural consumption. The title track is bright and bouncy, and you sort of hear what Avey Tare is singing. The perfect spring soundtrack after that shitty winter we apparently had in eastern Canada (I was too busy gallivanting around warmer international destinations).

Animal Collective - Water Curses


Another not-so-new band I was recently put onto is The Dodos.

They remind me of a more coherent Animal Collective, and carry an impressive amount of depth considering their set up is essentially acoustic guitar and drums. Meric Long's guitar playing swells through different moods, ranging from breezy folk-pop to more dark psychedelic tones. They have a new album out, Visiter, and it's awesome. "Jodi" is epic stuff, while "Red and Purple" is just really catchy.

The Dodos - Jodi

The Dodos - Red and Purple

-A.W.