On the cover of Avey Tare’s first solo effort is a crocodile skull, rippling with sharp green details that vaguely resemble a sort of digital swamp grass. This image, though not nearly the most inventive cover of an Animal Collective–related work, is the most fitting — Avey Tare (real name: David Portner) drenches his first solo effort in a deep, dark murkiness that rarely subsists across the record’s surprisingly short 35–minute runtime.
This sound shouldn’t surprise, though. Down There isn’t drastically different from Animal Collective’s discography thus far; it’s mostly a foggier, more melancholy retelling of something familiar. Both often feature a waterlogged ambience — the difference is that AnCo’s more aquatic moments sound as if the band is floating aimlessly, while Down There sounds like the unhinged reflections of a shipwrecked man. Still, it’s the lyrics that reflect this difference, moreso than the instrumentals. Even the most relaxed songs, such as the ghostly duo of “Cemeteries” and “Heather in The Hospital,” feature a lyricism that is deeply, unabashedly disturbed.
The haunted lyrics are partially veiled by the off–kilter, malleable instrumentation. Though the backing sounds are subtle on most tracks, they erupt into blatant hooks on the deceptively simple “Lucky 1” and the skittery “Ghost of Books.” These tracks probably won’t win AnCo any new fans, but they nevertheless offer more poppy alternatives to Avey Tare’s draining (but nonetheless rewarding and uniquely detailed) sonic sludge. They infect Down There with an incongruous bounciness, creating a finely balanced, ultimately engrossing solo debut in the process.
Avey Tare
Down There
Sounds Like: The deepest postulations of a bummed–out dude
99-cent download: “Lucky 1”
Good for: People who have heard Animal Collective before
4/5 Stars
