Water Curses

Rather than listening for the first cuckoo you can herald the arrival of spring with the 2008 album, Animal Collective's EP, Water Curses which is the first Animal Collective release since last year's tour de force Strawberry Jam. Water Curses sees the band's capacity for re-imaging their constituent parts into ever more interesting and saturated shapes go up by a giddy notch. All four tracks have a more stripped down feel than their recent work, opener "Water Curses" takes an unexpected rhythm and throws it up, down and sideways to produce the sound of a smile. A technique that Animal Collective are now in a position to call their own. Track titles are Water Curses, Street Flash, Cobwebs and Seal Eyeing.