Avey Tare – Down There (Paw Tracks)
Down There is weird. There’s no other way of putting it. An assortment of voices take it in turns to hum and murmur, drifting in and out from behind dampened drum beats and an unlikely assortment of electronic rumbles and gurgles. But then again, would you expect anything less from an album inspired crocodiles?
This is Avey Tare’s debut solo project, but the experience he has amassed in his day job as multi-instrumentalist for experimental rock outfit Animal Collective is evident. Down There is deeply stylized, utilizing synthesizers and drum machines to create a natural-yet-unnatural sound. He stays true to this formula throughout, and the result is that the parts cohere beautifully to the whole. The album’s thorough unusualness only enhances the strange and surprising experience of listening to it.
