Animal Collective, Part 1

Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished (2000)

Mostly written by Avey Tare. Panda Bear played drums. It was originally released under both of their names. There is a considerable amount of straightforward and poppy songwriting on this album, which is something that would largely disappear for Danse Manatee, and slowly come back in subsequent records.


Danse Manatee (2001)

The noisier second album was their first with Geologist. According to Wikipedia: "At the time of recording, the band was into extreme frequencies. Their goal was to experiment with intense high and low sounds and how they occupied space in the room and moved around in the listener's head."


Hollinndagain (2002)

Wikipedia says: "Hollinndagain is a collection of live, mostly non-album material from around the time of the band's second album, Danse Manatee. The first three songs were recorded during a performance on New Jersey radio station WFMU; the final four were culled from live shows in New York, Nashville and Austin with Black Dice in the summer of 2001."


Campfire Songs (2003)

Wikipedia says: "The album is comprised of five individual songs played back-to-back and recorded in one take. The recording was made on a screen porch in Maryland using three Sony MiniDisc players with Sony ECM-MS907 microphones placed strategically around the band. Ambient sound from the surrounding area was also captured and added later." This was their first album with Deakin.


Here Comes The Indian (2003)

This was the first album to actually be released under the name Animal Collective, as well as being the first of their albums on which all four members appear.