David Portner, also known as Animal Collective member Avey Tare, released his second solo record, Down There, in the fall of 2010. The title really meant what it implied; it was a murky, confused, and euphoric album that showcased the complexities that Avey Tare often brings to the lyrics of many of Animal Collective's songs. Considering the smashing success of Animal Collective's most accessible effort, 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion, listening to Down There is quite a different, more personal experience. Gone are the Beach Boys-equse harmonies and soothing beats, but Portner allows for us to enter his psyche and drown within the sounds, creating some kind of weird and exotic pathway that was best experienced on tracks of Animal Collective's Feels. "Laughing Hieroglyphic," the opening track off Down There, is fantastically hypnotic and sensory, almost asking us for our attention from the get-go and refusing to bubble up to the surface for breath. Even if the album was somewhat overlooked in 2010, at least this track is continually intriguing and worth taking a second look.
Check out "Laughing Hieroglyphic" below and tell us what you think. Is it better or worse than any of Avey Tare's solo outings or of Animal Collective's? Do you feel the eccentricites of Portner's personality through the music or lyrics he creates? Is it self-indulgent?
Avey Tare - "Laughing Hieroglyphic"
-DJ
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