Avey Tare – Down There
Paw Tracks: 2010
Avey Tare (also known as David Portner, a founding member of Animal Collective) states plainly on his myspace page that his side-project was heavily influenced by one of his favorite animals, the crocodile. It makes sense then that Down There submerges itself to murky depths of percussive, soulful ambient indie rock, rarely coming up for air.
It’s dark and frequently resplendent in far-reaching sounds and effects whirring around the headphones like bugs in the bayou. The album fearlessly explores corners of paranoia, loneliness and neediness. For example, the introspective lyrics of “Oliver Twist” intones “I know that I am needy/ Some are good / Some are rotten” atop a foreboding beat and chants. In other places Portner’s tenor voice and knack for popping choruses aim to keep the effort afloat See: “3 Umbrellas”, a skipping, piano-driven number that is most reminiscent of the recent, accessible Animal Collective.
Ultimately, though, you can’t shake the feeling that this is still a side project. It’s a relatively short album, totaling just nine songs and 34 minutes. The songs cross-fade into one another, making the experience easy on the ears, but unfortunately all too forgettable.
Down There at times successfully explores an intriguing underbelly of fuzzy noise-pop, but it’s not necessarily a trip worth re-visiting.
2.5 out of 5
