Digital Culture Blog 3: Album Review
The Awe of Childhood
For this blog, I have decided to review my favorite album "Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" by Avey Tare (David Portner) and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox).
"Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" is a title that adequately sums up the main theme of this emotional roller-coaster of an album. One moment, the album wretches your heart and the next moment it fills it will child-like joy. From crushing waves and frequencies to blissful melodies and more than capable percussion, this album is best described as an "experience". The title is taken from a line spoken from the animated film "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" and the title itself is an interesting talking point. It is more than likely referring to the fleeting experience of being youthful: innocence leaving as we become more conscious and aware of the world and of our own actions. For many, this is a daunting realization (or perhaps even a meaningless one); that we will never be able to feel as we once did as children ever again. Pure happiness and pure sadness: everything revolved around our emotions when we were children. We may not be able to go back to our childhood feelings, but with this very album, we can simulate those feelings and potentially even disconnect from our age. I will now explore the album and speak about it track-by-track listed out below:
1. "Spirit They've Vanished" Right off the bat, the album immerses itself in the theme of childlike thought. It does so by playing a childish prank on its listeners. The opening track begins with a whispered line: "Shhh, do you wanna hear a secret?" that voice beckons, "I know one". as many listeners may lean in, expecting something pleasant, they are greeted with squealing noises, high frequencies and piercing synthesized tones. This opening track may be alarming, frightening and hated by many upon their first listen. Personally, I believe this song is a hypnotic and encapsulating experience that hooks my attention every single time. The song toys with the theme of childhood in a cruel sense, but in doing so portrays its theme in a much more immersive way. The lyrical content on this album is truly stunning and provocative. Song writer David Portner (Avey Tare) releases words from his mouth as if he weren't human but as if he were an ethereal being making commentary on the futility of growing old. The emotion and sadness that is conveyed in this song is enough to shatter ones own heart twenty times over. It is as if Portner is mourning the loss of his childhood in a sense that I feel many should be able to relate to.
2. "April And The Phantom" this second track pulls a similar move to the first in that, it lures you in and then beats you down with harsh tearing noise. With this track, I interpret it to touch on a different aspect of the childhood theme. The pleasant sound of bells and such that rings out in the beginning represent, to me, the comfort of being a very young child and finding peace in something as simple as the jingle of bells. The ripping and tearing noise then represents how quickly a child can become frightened by the unknown and unfamiliar. In a way, the band captures childish fear by scaring listeners with this noise. The track then transitions into some amazing percussion provided by Noah Lennox (Panda Bear). Synths and acoustic guitar join the percussion along with Portner's vocals, now much more manic and playful. A synthesized bass line appears filling out the rest of the instrumentation on this track. The song tells the story of April and her "Phantom" which may be an allegory for an imaginary friend. It tells of April and the Phantom going for walks in the woods and playing together. When April grows older, however, Phantom is forgotten and "buried"; this is likely another metaphor for growing older and losing your childhood imagination and creativity. The song ends on some very quiet vocals and the sound of a cowbell, but don't be tricked again: this is possibly the worst time to turn the volume to max.
3. Some refer to this track as "Untitled" however when the album was initially released the spot for this song was simply blank, which eliminated the irony of titling a track "untitled". Therefore I will leave the title blank as well. Here it is. What many consider to be the most obnoxious point in the album, I find to be rather beautiful in all honesty. Now, does the noise of this track become grating to me as well at times? of course, I'm not going to ridicule people for being turned off by this song or claim that it is wrong to hate it. However, the harshness juxtaposed up against the wonderful swelling piano paints such vivid imagery in my head that I simply adore it. A friend once told me that this track made him think of child birth and I couldn't think of a better parallel. This track represents the doom of existing; that is, as soon as we begin existing, we are destined to not exist. This songs plays on the bitter-sweet emotion of growing old and changing perfectly.
4. "Penny Dreadfuls" this track phases into reality with a set of shimmering tones that set the tone for the song. Supposedly written when Portner was just 16, the song focuses mainly on a piano motif as well as swelling and gliding synths along with Lennox's percussion. Portner's singing goes back to a more hushed tone as he recounts a tale of a bully on a school bus. The lyrics give the feeling of having memories of embarrassing or difficult encounters as a child. During the emotional climax of the song, Portner sounds as if he is on the verge of tears as a child might be as they remember something they wish to forget. This is a phenomenon that persists through adulthood as repressed memories of childhood could flow back or be triggered by the strangest of things. The song then, at the end, gives way to one of the absolute strangest sounds of the album. The sound of what could only be described as a zipper breaks through and repeats until the song ends. To me, it is a low point for the album that breaks my own immersion. It could fit into the theme of memories, however, in that a repressed memory may come to us when we'd least like to remember it, just as the zipper sound does in the song. Theme aside, it is a rather strange choice.
5. "Chocolate Girl" this track is one of the more straightforward and sweeter songs on the album. It contains some of my favorite percussion ever, as Lennox truly has masterful understanding of dynamics and makes the album more than a treat to listen to rhythmically. The synthesized bass returns along with the acoustic guitar. Thematically and in terms of sound it is most similar to track two. It contains a rewarding chorus and is simply a pleasing and melodically tasteful song to listen to with the interesting sounds and harmonies mixed in. The lyrical content once again seems to refer to missing the imagination of being a child, as Portner mentions that he can no longer see the chocolate girl and states that he must "open up" his brain again to be able to imagine the girl.
6. "Everyone Whistling" This short interlude-esque track swells into your ears with stacked sounds that give way to a mesmerizing glistening/ringing sound. It is as eerie as it is stunning. This track transitions directly into the next track.
7. "La Rapet" This track gets its title from a short story about a character known as "La Rapet" or "The Devil" who watches over the dead for pay. As well as alluding to the aforementioned short story, the song is also one the most dynamic on the album. Shifting volumes and descending bass grooves make for one of the catchiest songs on the album as well. The lead synth line is reminiscent of sounds associated with glimmering stars, a theme that is constant through the album. Watching through old animations and cartoons, when space or stars are depicted they are often accompanied by similar glistening or shimmering high-pitched sounds as I hear on this album. The essence of stars, and light and space are very good metaphors for this album, as a child could be seen as a glowing star, basking in the light of innocence but doomed to be swallowed by the surrounding space which represents a larger consciousness. The song shifts tones around the two minute mark, slowing down and then building steam back up again. The song leaves us on the repeated lyric "The birds are calling for you, please don't follow". This could be interpreted as the caller begging others around them to not be swallowed up with life and to maintain childlike creativity.
8. " Bat You'll Fly" One of the grooviest songs on the album, this track is a purely blissful pop track to just jam out to. It features a very smooth breakdown and some very addictive melodies. This album is so vastly layered with synthesized key melodies that it keeps each listen fresh and new.
9. "Someday I'll Grow Up To Be As Tall As The Giant" This is another shorter "interlude" type track. It features jangled carousal-esque sounds that give imagery of being a small child in a mall or at an amusement park. The theme touches on being a child and dreaming of what growing up must be like. The bass and percussion steal the show on this very short track, the album credits do not lie when attributing "perfect percussion" to Panda Bear.
10. "Alvin Row" Here it is: the definitive masterpiece of this album. Seriously, this song is an absolute beast of melody, noise, chaos and pure beauty. It envelops all themes touched on throughout the album and packages everything into a three part saga of a song. The album begins with sharp piercing noises and percussive stumbling. The lyrical content implies that this part of the song is also a metaphor for the shock of childbirth, eventually settling into a steady pace for the song and dropping the shrill noise. I would always jokingly refer to this segment as "Avey and Panda visit the dentist's office". This song brings the most masterful combination of piano, percussion and synthetic bass on the album. The understanding of dynamics - loud and soft - are next level in keeping the listener on edge. The lyrical theme touches on the pure nostalgia for ones own childhood, as I have stated, it embodies the over arching theme of the whole album. The melodies carry tones that are as interesting as they are addictive. Eventually, the song explodes into one of the most soul crushing performances of Portner's career, "RUN!". Portner screams and cries out, wishing to run from the maturation of growing older and instead back into the comfort of ones own youth. He knows this is not fully possible. After this climax, the song resettles and locks back into it's final chapter. This stretch of the song feels slightly indulgent and lengthy until the "I'll stay shy" segment, which is every bit of the amazing conclusion this album deserves. Portner is telling us that even though it is impossible to escape back to being a kid, that emotion and essence is never truly lost on anyone.
Conclusion: This is certainly an amazing album in my own opinion. There is so much to touch on that I could not have even scraped through here. However, it is not an album for everyone, and I can sympathize with the naysayers on some points. Yes, the noise can be off-putting and harsh. Yes, the mixing can be off-putting at times, with lyrics being essentially indecipherable most of the time. Yes, I could see a lot of the lyrical content being interpreted as simple nonsense, and sometimes and I can see it that way too. At its core, Spirit is an emotional experience, backed up with impressive and very interesting musical ideas and concepts. The effort and attention to tone/atmosphere on this thing is some of the most impressive I have ever heard. Rather than simply talk about childhood, the musicians have utilized their skill to make music from a child's perspective. And while most of the album takes a retrospective view, the musical themes and motifs never stray from innocence and playfulness. The simple inclusion of shimmering tones - that which makes us think of light, or stars, with light being a metaphor for purity - is genius on its own to me. Avey Tare and Panda Bear have many other albums that I adore, but none will be able to touch the atmosphere and emotion of this album in my own eyes.
For this blog, I have decided to review my favorite album "Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" by Avey Tare (David Portner) and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox).
"Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" is a title that adequately sums up the main theme of this emotional roller-coaster of an album. One moment, the album wretches your heart and the next moment it fills it will child-like joy. From crushing waves and frequencies to blissful melodies and more than capable percussion, this album is best described as an "experience". The title is taken from a line spoken from the animated film "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" and the title itself is an interesting talking point. It is more than likely referring to the fleeting experience of being youthful: innocence leaving as we become more conscious and aware of the world and of our own actions. For many, this is a daunting realization (or perhaps even a meaningless one); that we will never be able to feel as we once did as children ever again. Pure happiness and pure sadness: everything revolved around our emotions when we were children. We may not be able to go back to our childhood feelings, but with this very album, we can simulate those feelings and potentially even disconnect from our age. I will now explore the album and speak about it track-by-track listed out below:
1. "Spirit They've Vanished" Right off the bat, the album immerses itself in the theme of childlike thought. It does so by playing a childish prank on its listeners. The opening track begins with a whispered line: "Shhh, do you wanna hear a secret?" that voice beckons, "I know one". as many listeners may lean in, expecting something pleasant, they are greeted with squealing noises, high frequencies and piercing synthesized tones. This opening track may be alarming, frightening and hated by many upon their first listen. Personally, I believe this song is a hypnotic and encapsulating experience that hooks my attention every single time. The song toys with the theme of childhood in a cruel sense, but in doing so portrays its theme in a much more immersive way. The lyrical content on this album is truly stunning and provocative. Song writer David Portner (Avey Tare) releases words from his mouth as if he weren't human but as if he were an ethereal being making commentary on the futility of growing old. The emotion and sadness that is conveyed in this song is enough to shatter ones own heart twenty times over. It is as if Portner is mourning the loss of his childhood in a sense that I feel many should be able to relate to.
2. "April And The Phantom" this second track pulls a similar move to the first in that, it lures you in and then beats you down with harsh tearing noise. With this track, I interpret it to touch on a different aspect of the childhood theme. The pleasant sound of bells and such that rings out in the beginning represent, to me, the comfort of being a very young child and finding peace in something as simple as the jingle of bells. The ripping and tearing noise then represents how quickly a child can become frightened by the unknown and unfamiliar. In a way, the band captures childish fear by scaring listeners with this noise. The track then transitions into some amazing percussion provided by Noah Lennox (Panda Bear). Synths and acoustic guitar join the percussion along with Portner's vocals, now much more manic and playful. A synthesized bass line appears filling out the rest of the instrumentation on this track. The song tells the story of April and her "Phantom" which may be an allegory for an imaginary friend. It tells of April and the Phantom going for walks in the woods and playing together. When April grows older, however, Phantom is forgotten and "buried"; this is likely another metaphor for growing older and losing your childhood imagination and creativity. The song ends on some very quiet vocals and the sound of a cowbell, but don't be tricked again: this is possibly the worst time to turn the volume to max.
3. Some refer to this track as "Untitled" however when the album was initially released the spot for this song was simply blank, which eliminated the irony of titling a track "untitled". Therefore I will leave the title blank as well. Here it is. What many consider to be the most obnoxious point in the album, I find to be rather beautiful in all honesty. Now, does the noise of this track become grating to me as well at times? of course, I'm not going to ridicule people for being turned off by this song or claim that it is wrong to hate it. However, the harshness juxtaposed up against the wonderful swelling piano paints such vivid imagery in my head that I simply adore it. A friend once told me that this track made him think of child birth and I couldn't think of a better parallel. This track represents the doom of existing; that is, as soon as we begin existing, we are destined to not exist. This songs plays on the bitter-sweet emotion of growing old and changing perfectly.
4. "Penny Dreadfuls" this track phases into reality with a set of shimmering tones that set the tone for the song. Supposedly written when Portner was just 16, the song focuses mainly on a piano motif as well as swelling and gliding synths along with Lennox's percussion. Portner's singing goes back to a more hushed tone as he recounts a tale of a bully on a school bus. The lyrics give the feeling of having memories of embarrassing or difficult encounters as a child. During the emotional climax of the song, Portner sounds as if he is on the verge of tears as a child might be as they remember something they wish to forget. This is a phenomenon that persists through adulthood as repressed memories of childhood could flow back or be triggered by the strangest of things. The song then, at the end, gives way to one of the absolute strangest sounds of the album. The sound of what could only be described as a zipper breaks through and repeats until the song ends. To me, it is a low point for the album that breaks my own immersion. It could fit into the theme of memories, however, in that a repressed memory may come to us when we'd least like to remember it, just as the zipper sound does in the song. Theme aside, it is a rather strange choice.
5. "Chocolate Girl" this track is one of the more straightforward and sweeter songs on the album. It contains some of my favorite percussion ever, as Lennox truly has masterful understanding of dynamics and makes the album more than a treat to listen to rhythmically. The synthesized bass returns along with the acoustic guitar. Thematically and in terms of sound it is most similar to track two. It contains a rewarding chorus and is simply a pleasing and melodically tasteful song to listen to with the interesting sounds and harmonies mixed in. The lyrical content once again seems to refer to missing the imagination of being a child, as Portner mentions that he can no longer see the chocolate girl and states that he must "open up" his brain again to be able to imagine the girl.
6. "Everyone Whistling" This short interlude-esque track swells into your ears with stacked sounds that give way to a mesmerizing glistening/ringing sound. It is as eerie as it is stunning. This track transitions directly into the next track.
7. "La Rapet" This track gets its title from a short story about a character known as "La Rapet" or "The Devil" who watches over the dead for pay. As well as alluding to the aforementioned short story, the song is also one the most dynamic on the album. Shifting volumes and descending bass grooves make for one of the catchiest songs on the album as well. The lead synth line is reminiscent of sounds associated with glimmering stars, a theme that is constant through the album. Watching through old animations and cartoons, when space or stars are depicted they are often accompanied by similar glistening or shimmering high-pitched sounds as I hear on this album. The essence of stars, and light and space are very good metaphors for this album, as a child could be seen as a glowing star, basking in the light of innocence but doomed to be swallowed by the surrounding space which represents a larger consciousness. The song shifts tones around the two minute mark, slowing down and then building steam back up again. The song leaves us on the repeated lyric "The birds are calling for you, please don't follow". This could be interpreted as the caller begging others around them to not be swallowed up with life and to maintain childlike creativity.
8. " Bat You'll Fly" One of the grooviest songs on the album, this track is a purely blissful pop track to just jam out to. It features a very smooth breakdown and some very addictive melodies. This album is so vastly layered with synthesized key melodies that it keeps each listen fresh and new.
9. "Someday I'll Grow Up To Be As Tall As The Giant" This is another shorter "interlude" type track. It features jangled carousal-esque sounds that give imagery of being a small child in a mall or at an amusement park. The theme touches on being a child and dreaming of what growing up must be like. The bass and percussion steal the show on this very short track, the album credits do not lie when attributing "perfect percussion" to Panda Bear.
10. "Alvin Row" Here it is: the definitive masterpiece of this album. Seriously, this song is an absolute beast of melody, noise, chaos and pure beauty. It envelops all themes touched on throughout the album and packages everything into a three part saga of a song. The album begins with sharp piercing noises and percussive stumbling. The lyrical content implies that this part of the song is also a metaphor for the shock of childbirth, eventually settling into a steady pace for the song and dropping the shrill noise. I would always jokingly refer to this segment as "Avey and Panda visit the dentist's office". This song brings the most masterful combination of piano, percussion and synthetic bass on the album. The understanding of dynamics - loud and soft - are next level in keeping the listener on edge. The lyrical theme touches on the pure nostalgia for ones own childhood, as I have stated, it embodies the over arching theme of the whole album. The melodies carry tones that are as interesting as they are addictive. Eventually, the song explodes into one of the most soul crushing performances of Portner's career, "RUN!". Portner screams and cries out, wishing to run from the maturation of growing older and instead back into the comfort of ones own youth. He knows this is not fully possible. After this climax, the song resettles and locks back into it's final chapter. This stretch of the song feels slightly indulgent and lengthy until the "I'll stay shy" segment, which is every bit of the amazing conclusion this album deserves. Portner is telling us that even though it is impossible to escape back to being a kid, that emotion and essence is never truly lost on anyone.
Conclusion: This is certainly an amazing album in my own opinion. There is so much to touch on that I could not have even scraped through here. However, it is not an album for everyone, and I can sympathize with the naysayers on some points. Yes, the noise can be off-putting and harsh. Yes, the mixing can be off-putting at times, with lyrics being essentially indecipherable most of the time. Yes, I could see a lot of the lyrical content being interpreted as simple nonsense, and sometimes and I can see it that way too. At its core, Spirit is an emotional experience, backed up with impressive and very interesting musical ideas and concepts. The effort and attention to tone/atmosphere on this thing is some of the most impressive I have ever heard. Rather than simply talk about childhood, the musicians have utilized their skill to make music from a child's perspective. And while most of the album takes a retrospective view, the musical themes and motifs never stray from innocence and playfulness. The simple inclusion of shimmering tones - that which makes us think of light, or stars, with light being a metaphor for purity - is genius on its own to me. Avey Tare and Panda Bear have many other albums that I adore, but none will be able to touch the atmosphere and emotion of this album in my own eyes.
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