Sung Tongs
Encyclopedia
Sung Tongs is the fifth album by Baltimore
-based band Animal Collective
, released on May 3, 2004 by Fat Cat Records
.
Despite the name 'Animal Collective' attached to this album, only two of the band's four members play on it: Avey Tare (David Portner) and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox). As a result, Sung Tongs is a more stripped-down affair than other Animal Collective releases. On the album, Portner and Lennox both utilize acoustic guitars and tribal-like drums; the electric guitar, an important element in the Collective's previous album, Here Comes the Indian
, is nowhere to be found. This sound brought the band closer to the psych folk
and freak folk
genres that critics tended to group them in around this period.
Sung Tongs is generally considered to be Animal Collective's breakthrough release; it generated much praise from critics upon its release and was frequently featured in best-of lists at the end of 2004.
Moreover, they used exclusively red light during the recording process. Portner explains at the same place:
, the album has a score of 83 out of 100, indicating "Universal acclaim."
The song Visiting Friends was influenced by Kompakt
’s Pop Ambient compilations and Wolfgang Voigt
’s project Gas
. It was meant to be "like a wall of hums [...], but with acoustic guitars."
Recalling the recordings of the album's single Who Could Win a Rabbit
, Portner wrote on the Collected Animals Board: "The first time we played back who could win a rabbit after we recorded the initial tracks we just cracked up and said 'holy shit, we made that????....' "
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-based band Animal Collective
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
, released on May 3, 2004 by Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop...
.
Despite the name 'Animal Collective' attached to this album, only two of the band's four members play on it: Avey Tare (David Portner) and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox). As a result, Sung Tongs is a more stripped-down affair than other Animal Collective releases. On the album, Portner and Lennox both utilize acoustic guitars and tribal-like drums; the electric guitar, an important element in the Collective's previous album, Here Comes the Indian
Here Comes the Indian
Here Comes The Indian is the fourth studio album by Baltimore-based band Animal Collective, released on June 17, 2003. This was the first album to bear the name Animal Collective; before Indian, they had chosen to credit themselves according to who played on each album.Here Comes the Indian is the...
, is nowhere to be found. This sound brought the band closer to the psych folk
Psych folk
Psychedelic folk or psych folk is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s through the fusion of folk music and psychedelic rock...
and freak folk
Freak folk
Freak folk is a genre of folk music associated with contemporary artists such as Faun Fables, Animal Collective, Davenport, Devendra Banhart,CocoRosie, Panda Bear, Kelli Ali, Joanna Newsom, Bowerbirds, Woods, Greg Weeks, Hecuba, Akron/Family, Rio en Medio, Birdengine, Sufjan Stevens, Sean Hayes,...
genres that critics tended to group them in around this period.
Sung Tongs is generally considered to be Animal Collective's breakthrough release; it generated much praise from critics upon its release and was frequently featured in best-of lists at the end of 2004.
Recording
On the Collected Animals message board, Portner talks about the recording equipment http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1324:
"Yeah, we recorded it on the same tascam 48 (half inch 8 track) that I recorded SpiritSpirit They're Gone, Spirit They've VanishedSpirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished is the first album by Baltimore based band Animal Collective, released in August 2000 under the name Avey Tare and Panda Bear. The album was released as a CD on the band's own Animal label , and only 2000 copies were made...
on and the drums guitars and early electronics for Danse ManateeDanse ManateeDanse Manatee is the second album by Baltimore based band Animal Collective, released in July 2001 on Catsup Plate under the name Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist. Only 1000 copies were made for the Catsup Plate release, but it has since been re-released as a double CD along with Spirit They're...
. That is we recorded the acoustic guitars and the vocals on 8 tracks. Then we mixed it down on Rusty'sRusty SantosRusty Santos is a Record producer and Singer-songwriter based in New York City. He is known for producing, recording, mixing and/or mastering records like Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs and the reissue of Danse Manatee, Panda Bear’s Young Prayer and Person Pitch, Born Ruffians’ Red, Yellow & Blue,...
laptop and recorded many vocal and percussion over dubs. He's been using that for years. We mixed it from that onto....something..(i cant remember) at Noah's mom's place in BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. It was very cold so we had to wear jackets the whole time. We added in all those samples and electronics there. We mixed for awhile so its sweet you like the mixing. Oh and we used AKGs and an old ribbon mike to record with. Though we had a pzm and some sm57s that we might have used as well. I remember using the pzm to record me slamming the door of the house which is what that distorted rhythm track in kids on holiday is. The person talking at the beginning of Who Could Win A Rabbit is someone in a deli in my neighborhood."
Moreover, they used exclusively red light during the recording process. Portner explains at the same place:
Lots of singing and messing around with doing vocals in all parts of a room. It was basically like a two bedroom house but the living room was all cement...thats where we recorded and the bedroom was where we set up the mixer. Its on the property that my parents live on in Lamar, Colorado. We rented a bunch of mikes here in nyc and took my eight track out there with us. RustyRusty SantosRusty Santos is a Record producer and Singer-songwriter based in New York City. He is known for producing, recording, mixing and/or mastering records like Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs and the reissue of Danse Manatee, Panda Bear’s Young Prayer and Person Pitch, Born Ruffians’ Red, Yellow & Blue,...
[Santos] would just listen to every song as we would play it live and walk around the room for a while and then decide how he'd want to mike the guitars. Noah and i both did the percussion during over dubs throughout the session as well.
Reception and Legacy
Sung Tongs has received mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregate site MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the album has a score of 83 out of 100, indicating "Universal acclaim."
Awards
The album has appeared on the following best-of lists:- #9 in Pitchfork MediaPitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Top 100 Albums of the Decade's First Half (2000–2004) - #2 in Pitchfork MediaPitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Top 50 Albums of 2004 - #27 in Pitchfork MediaPitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Top 200 Albums of the 2000s - #2 in Tiny Mix TapesTiny Mix TapesTiny Mix Tapes is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as its mix tapes generator.-History:Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and...
' Top 100 Albums of the 2000s
Track listing
- "Leaf House" – 2:42
- "Who Could Win a RabbitWho Could Win a Rabbit"Who Could Win a Rabbit" is the first single from experimental rock band Animal Collective's fifth album, Sung Tongs.The song is notable for its quick and poppy structure and its obscure and seemingly non-sensical lyrics. It also possesses an unusual time signature...
" – 2:18 - "The Softest Voice" – 6:46
- "Winters Love" – 4:55
- "Kids on Holiday" – 5:47
- "Sweet Road" – 1:15
- "Visiting Friends" – 12:36
- "College" – 0:53
- "We Tigers" – 2:43
- "Mouth Wooed Her" – 4:24
- "Good Lovin Outside" – 4:26
- "Whaddit I Done" – 4:05
Trivia
The short track College with its line "You don't have to go to college" has often been mistaken as a political statement. "i just threw that line in there to make it funny and to be anti beachboys cause the song is so beach boys to begin with. You know its like the anti..be true to your school mentality of the fifties.", Dave Portner (aka Avey Tare) explained on the Collected Animals message board.http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1521"The response to that song has been amazing. People at gigs scream for us to play it, and we get emails from kids asking for advice", Portner said in an Interview in 2005.The song Visiting Friends was influenced by Kompakt
Kompakt
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...
’s Pop Ambient compilations and Wolfgang Voigt
Wolfgang Voigt
Wolfgang Voigt is an electronic music artist from Cologne, Germany, known for his output under various aliases on a plethora of record labels, including Warp, Harvest, Raster-Noton and Force Inc...
’s project Gas
Gas (musician)
Gas is a project of Cologne, Germany-based electronic musician Wolfgang Voigt. Voigt cites his youthful LSD experiences in the Königsforst, a German forest situated near his hometown of Köln, as the inspiration behind the project...
. It was meant to be "like a wall of hums [...], but with acoustic guitars."
Recalling the recordings of the album's single Who Could Win a Rabbit
Who Could Win a Rabbit
"Who Could Win a Rabbit" is the first single from experimental rock band Animal Collective's fifth album, Sung Tongs.The song is notable for its quick and poppy structure and its obscure and seemingly non-sensical lyrics. It also possesses an unusual time signature...
, Portner wrote on the Collected Animals Board: "The first time we played back who could win a rabbit after we recorded the initial tracks we just cracked up and said 'holy shit, we made that????....' "
Personnel
- Avey TareAvey TareAvey Tare is a musician and founding member of Animal Collective. Portner lives in Brooklyn, NY.-Animal Collective:...
- Panda BearPanda Bear (musician)Noah Benjamin Lennox also known as Panda Bear, is an experimental musician and a founding member of Animal Collective.-Early life:...
- Rusty SantosRusty SantosRusty Santos is a Record producer and Singer-songwriter based in New York City. He is known for producing, recording, mixing and/or mastering records like Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs and the reissue of Danse Manatee, Panda Bear’s Young Prayer and Person Pitch, Born Ruffians’ Red, Yellow & Blue,...
- EngineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Abby PortnerAbby PortnerAbigail Portner is a visual artist, designer, music video director and musician in the bands Rings and Hex Message and solo under the name Drawlings. She lives and works in West Hollywood, Los Angeles.-Visual Art:...
- Cover artCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e... - Rob Carmichael - Design and Layout