G
arbled. Babbling. Disorientated: at 3am on a Friday morning, it’s a state that most of Britain’s young adults have narcissistically inflicted upon themselves over the course of the evening prior. I’m all of the above but decidedly sober, sat prodding through the matrix of international and US state dialling codes, smug in the knowledge my head won’t feel like it’s been sat on by a Sumo wrestler in the morning. The reason for my increasingly sleep-deprived state is Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear – one part of 2010’s critical darlings Animal Collective. Having decamped from his home in Portugal, he’s back in the familiar surroundings of Baltimore for three months, working on new Animal Collective material and taking the chance to catch up with his “American family.” “Things are pretty good,” Noah starts,“sort of intense and hectic but I feel like there’s so many good things in my life. I always feel bad about complaining. I’m in Baltimore for three months to work and spend some time with my family over here. I don’t get to see them too often.” It’s a scenario much in keeping with Animal Collective’s geographically disparate make up. Where most bands have the option of cramming into a rehearsal space at relatively short notice, Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Deakin and Geologist have always taken more of a nonconformist approach that spans the globe and needs planning, with a bit more than an Oyster card to arrange. “I play in another band called Animal Collective and we’re starting to write new songs, and line those up for a couple of shows in a month or so. Ever since January 1st, we’ve been cracking away at that.” After the success and acclaim ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ generated early last year, it’s tellingly selfeffacing that Noah still feels the need to give his, and Animal Collective’s work, introductory context, even in light of their healthy back catalogues. In a year that’s also seen Dave Portner (Avey Tare) continue Animal Collective’s rich vein of solo output, with Noah’s ‘Tomboy’, his fourth LP as Panda Bear available in the coming weeks, the group’s on-going success becomes more of a logistical miracle with every release. “For the past seven years since I moved away, we’ve always sent each other demos and stuff and talked about what we’re thinking about doing, the instruments we’re playing and the vibe and mood of a song or album. There’s a lot of necessary talk and preparation before we actually get together to work on something. This past year, it feels like something we’ve planned for a little bit but it’s been a while since we’ve all been in the same city to make songs from zero. “We’re lucky to still be kind of growing in terms of getting our music out to people after doing a couple of albums. I feel lucky people still care, and people have stuck with us and we have the potential to get new fans with every record. But with a band like ours too, because
24
WWW.LOUDANDQUIET.COM