Following the release of their latest record, Time Skiffs, experimental band Animal Collective made their stop at the Vic a night of ambient psychedelic sounds. Animal Collective have been around for quite some time and are a well seasoned band, which means they had no problem with captivating their audience this past Sunday.
I’m a pretty casual Animal Collective fan and I had no idea what to expect from a band with such a large body of work. As they came on stage, visually stimulating projections emerged onto the band and the background, adding to their eccentric set. They of course had to bring their latest album to life; entrancing their dedicated fans with “Prester John” with its shimmery bass and synths, it was enough to cause a venue wide frisson. Following up with “We Go Back,” a rather whimsical track with bouts of layers throughout.
The meat of the show was more of a journey of sounds and detailed layers. There are very few bands I’ve had the chance to see that can produce such depth with their live performance and Animal Collective did not fall short of that. Their prolonged dreamy track “Cherokee” echoed throughout the Vic and left me mesmerized.
Animal Collective is not a conventional band, and that’s more than ok. They have proven over time that they can make a great indie rock tune while simultaneously releasing experimental reverb driven psychedelia. I am a huge fan of both sounds in general; so this was a very interesting and pleasant treat. They’ve been in the game long enough to be able to create as freely as they wish and proved Sunday night they can put on a hypnotizing and entirely enthralling show.
All photos by Andrew Lagunas