Live Review: LISTEN: Animal Collective 'Honeycomb/Gotham' Single

The Animal Collective gang have been busy critters. On Sunday night, Domino Records posted a page announcing the release of a new 7” vinyl single on 25/06, with the tracks posted on Soundcloud and immediately available for download for all pre-orders.

Information is scarce, but it sounds to me like it’s Avey Tare singing on “Honeycomb” and the long-absent Deakin on “Gotham” (though, you know, I could be completely wrong). The picture of the vinyl also lists Ben H. Allen III as a co-producer—no confirmation if that’s the same guy who gets a writing credit for “I Love College” but really, how many guys are walking around with that name?

As for the songs, “Honeycomb” is the playful, stop-start soundtrack to some kind of kindergarten ritual that has become the band’s trademark. “Gotham”, meanwhile, is a lurching number driven by guitar lines. It’s like the last slow dance of the night at a prom on a boat, except you’re so drunk you’ve fallen over the starboard side and you’re listening from underwater.

If previous Animal Collective singles and EPs are anything to go by, these songs tell us absolutely nothing about what a potential follow-up to 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion might sound like. Still, some deliciously weird tunes to while away your afternoon, with a technicolour sleeve likely to prompt a rush on the second-hand turntable market.

Listen to 'Honeycomb' HERE and 'Gotham' HERE

Words by Matt Nielson.

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE