We All Want Someone To Shout For

Conveyor are gearing up the release of their self-titled debut album. “Woolgatherer” is the lead single of the album, channeling the sound of early Animal Collective. With jumbled vocals and harmonies that are both quirky and pretty, it’s an unusual path towards beauty.

Listen below via IGIF:

The album will be released on colored 12″ vinyl on July 17 via Paper Garden Records. The band is playing their record release show at Mercury Lounge on June 28. Tickets are on sale now.

With new album Centipede Hz coming out September 4 via Domino, Animal Collective have announced some new tour dates. They stop in at Brooklyn’s Williamsburg Park on October 5. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, so be ready. Find the full tour dates posted after the jump below.

One fair warning. The band played almost all new material at last years Prospect Park show, so this show can almost be guaranteed to be the same. Don’t go into the shows hoping to hear too much older material, you’re bound to be going into it wrong.
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This September will see the release of Animal Collective’s new album, Centipede Hz. Last night the band posted a cryptic video on their website revealing the albums title and September 2012 release date (via Domino Records).

It also came with a bunch of names, that are likely the song titles. I have the video embedded below, along with the possible tracklisting. Note that “Honeycomb” & “Gotham” are nowhere to be found.
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Surprise, surprise: Animal Collective have two new songs for us to hear. Today on their website, the band posted an embed of two new songs titled “Honeycomb” & “Gotham” that they will release as a pair of singles for a 7″ that Domino Records will release on June 26.

“Honeycomb” harks on a more colorful sounding Animal Collective that could be a friendly mix between Feels and Strawberry Jam. “Gotham” on the other hand is a darker, solo affair from Avey Tare that is a ballad as only Animal Collective could deliver.

Goosebumps, signed, sealed, delivered. Stream both tracks below.

(photo via here)

I was fortunate enough to see a great deal of shows in 2011, and it wouldn’t feel right not looking back and tracking down which shows were the best of the best. Whether it was catching bands like LCD Soundsystem & The Strokes at the always massive MSG, seeing Crystal Castles at a firehouse, or the many bands at Bonnaroo, there was plenty of great 2011 shows that I will always remember.

Lists are always fun, and I’m in a groove, below is my top 25 shows of 2011. You know it was a good year when The Strokes don’t even make your top 10, and you saw them twice.

25. Friendly Fires, The Naked & Famous, and Cults @ Central Park Summerstage (August 7, 2011)
24. The Drums @ Bowery Ballroom (November 2, 2011)
23. Real Estate @ Bowery Ballroom (November 23, 2011)
22. Passion Pit @ Cornell University (November 5, 2011)
21. The Horrors @ The Studio At Webster Hall (August 9, 2011)
20. Beach Fossils @ 285 Kent (July 2, 2011)
19. The Antlers @ Bowery Ballroom (May 20, 2011)
18. Wild Beasts @ Le Poisson Rouge (July 14, 2011)
17. The Vaccines @ Bowery Ballroom (January 20, 2011)
16. Death From Above 1979 // The Drums @ The Williamsburg Waterfront (July 22, 2011)
15. Animal Collective @ Prospect Park (July 12, 2011)
14. Caveman @ Glasslands Gallery (October 21, 2011)
13. Death Cab For Cutie @ Bowery Ballroom (June 1, 2011)
12. Cut Copy // Foster The People @ Prospect Park (August 11, 2011)
11. The Strokes @ Madison Square Garden (April 1, 2011)
10. Bon Iver @ Prospect Park (August 10, 2011)

- All the magic of their two albums came to life beautifully during a perfect mid-summer night. It was after all the hype of the new album, but right before all his recent fame. It was perfect.

9. Sufjan Stevens @ Prospect Park (August 2, 2011)

-Sufjan Stevens is just a natural performer. He put on an incredible show with lots of theatrics, costumes, and even cool lights. The real magic was when he played songs from Illinois. Hearing those songs took me back to highschool and brought back all those old memories. Now that’s live music for you.

8. The National @ The Beacon Theatre (December 15, 2011)

-The most recent of all these shows, so the review may be fresh in your minds. It’s likely to be the last time I see them for a while, and I’m ok with that because they were electric.

7. The Walkmen @ Bonnaroo (June 9, 2011)

- I love The Walkmen, but didn’t expect them to sound as stunning as they were during night 1 of Bonnaroo. I sacrificed finally seeing Sleigh Bells to see them play, and I don’t regret it for a second. They finally played “The Rat” for me as well. Just saying.

6. Radiohead @ Roseland Ballroom (September 29, 2011)

- I saw Radiohead play the Roseland Ballroom the night before my 21st birthday. I think you get the idea.

5. Fleet Foxes At United Palace Theater (May 18, 2011)

- Boy, did Fleet Foxes sound magical this night. United Palace Theater was the perfect place to sit down and take in all the beauty that surrounded you. Fleet Foxes are stars, and this concert proved it.

4. Crystal Castles @ Spin/Ray-Ban’s CMJ Flip Out Party (October 22, 2011)

- Everything you heard about Crystal Castles live (the good), is 110% correct. Alice Glass used me to propel herself into the crowd. It was just a big giant dance party/rave. A genuine great time. Everyone needs to experience this band at least once.

3. Arcade Fire @ Bonnaroo (June 10, 2011)

- It was a humid night, I was dripping wet, dehydrated, tired, slugging back warm beers, with no room to breath in a restless crowd. Then Arcade Fire came on, and all was forgotten. I was soon reminded of how great of a band that these guys are. They are saving rock music.

2. Arctic Monkeys @ The Music Hall Of Williamsburg (October 19, 2011)

- Arctic Monkeys are playing one of the smallest shows that they will ever play in Brooklyn? I thought I was dreaming. Being able to sing along and watch the Arctics work their magic from a mere few feet away was beyond a dream come true. It’s probably never going to happen again, and I realize how fortunate I was to experience it.

1. LCD Soundsystem’s Final Show At Madison Square Garden (April 2nd, 2011)

- An easy #1 choice for me. I dropped an insane amount of money (yes, I do pay for my tickets most of the time, shocker?) to sit at the nosebleeds, and it was absolutely worth it. If that show was truly LCD’s last show ever, then I was blessed with one of the finest musical memories of our generation. James Murphy and friends jammed out for nearly 4 hours. They took intermissions, brought out guests such as Arcade Fire, and put on one of the greatest performances that I have ever seen. I’m sad that they are gone, but I’m happy I have such a happy last memory of them.

RIP, LCD.

Cheers To Camilo for the album art.

These are my favorite albums of the year. It wasn’t the year I thought it would be, but it had plenty going for it. A lot of good young artist came out and surprised me a great deal. I went with 31 albums because 20 + 11 = 31. It made more sense at first. I am ready to move on to 2012, but first, check out what records I was spinning in 2011.
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As Pitchfork reports, Animal Collective have starting working on their new album. In an interview with Madison.com, the bands very own Avey Tare told them that the band is in Baltimore working on the follow up to Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Here’s what Avey had to say:

We just finished another two weeks of writing sessions and put together five new songs. We’re really excited about this record and it’s been really fun jamming with those guys again.”

The band plans to begin full recording sessions in January.

Keep an open mind when you see Animal Collective live . I say this because there’s always the chance that a majority of the set will be dominated by new jams. If you go expecting to hear their “greatest hits”, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Last night’s show at Prospect Park was a great performance even if was dominated by new songs that may have left some fans wanting more.

The only old songs the band played were “We Tigers”, “Did You See The Words?”, “Brother Sport”, “Summertime Clothes” and “Taste”. All are some of the collective’s finest, but it would have helped to hear some other old cuts just to balance things out.

With that said, the new songs that Animal Collective played were mind blowingly good. I stayed pretty clear of all the live bootlegs beforehand, so almost all the songs were new to be. They sounded a lot more dance/beat based, relying more on rythem and timing rather than vocal harmonies (as seen on MPP). Avey Tare was the man of the show, taking lead in practically all of the songs. Panda Bear stayed tightly behind an actual drum kit, singing lead vocals on only a few songs, mainly sticking to backing vocals.

This came off as an odd decision to me at first, but these songs are more on the experimental side, leading me to believe that they’re better suited for Avey. (It’s a good guess that this album is very Avey influenced.) It was cool to hear Deakin take lead vocals on “Change”, the guy can sing. One new song that stood out was “I’d Rather” which was a perfect start to the encore.

It’s well known that you should go into an Animal Collective show expecting them to experiment with new songs, especially when they are in the process of working on a new album. I got to tip my cap that they stick to their guns, and trust their fans enough to play almost all new stuff. But the Animal Collective geek inside us all was dying to yelp to “Leaf House”, get emotional to “Fireworks” and enjoy the fuck out of “My Girls”.

Anyone who tells you different is simply trying too hard.

Black Dice opened the show. I never will understand this band. I just don’t get them. I’ve seen them open for bands three times now, and it’s been the same thing. I’ll just leave it at that. Nothing against the band, they just aren’t for me.

Setlist (via):

Animal Collective @ Prospect Park Bandshell 7/12/2011
“Change” / “Stop Thinking” / Did You See the Words? / “Long Time Ago” / “Take This Weight” / “Knock You Down” / Brother Sport / “Mercury” / “Your Choice” / “Frights” / We Tigers / Summertime Clothes // “I’d Rather” / “Little Kid” / Taste