Animal Collective Gear Up for New LP, Tour
Mongoose, snake separated over creative differences

Every music nerd has (likely more than once) blown their rent money at the record store. Sometimes that long-awaited paycheck comes and you do the responsible thing; other times, you spend the next two weeks taping your Converse together and scrubbing your molars with baking soda while you enjoy that new Decemberists album, or occasionally, that rare golden find from the $1.00 bin. I bought Animal Collective's fourth release, Here Comes the Indian, as one of those music-binge-scraping-out-the-last-cent-dollar-bin albums, but placing it in my stereo, I was astonished at what I'd found. Psychedelic. Folkish. Noise crazy. Improvisationalist. Sun City Girls vibe. All these descriptions come together in a contradictory but somehow complimentary fashion with Animal Collective, producing some of the brashest and captivating textual work of 2003 that alludes classification.

Having existing as a cult underground favorite for four years, the Animal Collective released several self-produced, self-released records before teaming up with the Carpark label to create their own subsidiary, Paw Tracks. Here Comes the Indian was the label's first project, but the boys of Animal Collective, adopting fitting pseudonyms such as Panda Bear and Geologist, plan on much more production in the coming months, not least of which is a solo record from Panda Bear in August, and a compilation in the fall.

In the meantime, their forthcoming follow-up to Here Comes the Indian, titled Sung Tongs, is scheduled for a May release through Fat Cat Records, the independent juggernaut that introduced the British Isles to bands like Múm, Black Dice, Giddy Motors, Set Fire to Flames, and of course, Sigur Rós. Tracklist:

01 Leaf House
02 Who Could Win a Rabbit
03 The Softest Voice
04 Winter's Love
05 Kids on Holiday
06 Sweet Road
07 Visiting Friends
08 College
09 We Tigers
10 Mouth Wooed Her
11 Good Lovin' Outside
12 Whaddit I Done

Garnering fans over the past years on two expansive U.S. tours-- one spent sharing the stage with their friends, Black Dice-- the Animal Collective has planned a third tour, this time crossing the pond to share their transcendent cacophonies with some grateful Euro kids. The dates:

03-22 Boston, MA - Midway Cafe
03-23 Norfolk, VA - Wesleyan College
03-24 Providence, RI - Brown University at Russel Lab Doors
03-25 Bard College, NY - Bard College
03-26 New York, NY - Anthology Film Archives >
03-27 Philadelphia, PA - Vox Populi Gallery +
03-28 Baltimore, MD - Supreme Imperial +
03-29 Charlottesville, VA - Tokyo Rose +
03-30 Washington, DC - Warehouse Next Door +
04-07 Frankfurt, Germany - TAT Theatre
04-08 Paris, France - Cartier Foundation
04-13 Ghent, Belgium - TBA
04-14 Schorndorf, Germany - Manufaktur $
04-15 Koln, Germany - Gebaude 9 $
04-16 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique $
04-17 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Motel Mozaique $
04-18 Oslo, Norway - Random System Festival
04-20 Heidelberg, Germany - Karlstorbahnhof $
04-22 Brighton, England - Old Market $
04-23 Liverpool, England - Academy 2 $
04-24 Oxford, England - Zodiac $
04-25 London, England - Old Vic Theatre $
04-27 Leeds, England - City Varieties $
04-28 Glasgow, Scotland - Tramway $
04-29 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street $
04-30 London, England - Coronet Theatre #
05-01 Aberdeen, Scotland - Triptych Festival - TBA
05-02 Edinburgh, Scotland - Triptych Festival & The Venue
05-03 Bristol, England - TBA
05-04 Brighton, England - Po Nan Na - TBA
05-06 London, England - Buffelo Bar

> with Black Dice
+ with White Magic
! with Greg Davis and Ogurusu Norihide
^ with Lullatone
% with Need New Body and White Magic
* with the Numbers
$ with Múm <br> # with Four Tet

Paw Tracks: http://carparkrecords.com/pawtracks.html
Car Park: http://www.carparkrecords.com
Fat Cat: http://www.fat-cat.co.uk