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NPR Music SET LIST “Dragon Slayer“ “Car Keys“ “Kings Walk“ MUSICIANS Avey Tare: bass, vocals Panda Bear: drums, vocals Geologist: electronics, hurdy-gurdy Deakin: keys, vocals Bob Boilen | July 12, 2022 Every time I’ve witnessed Animal Collective in concert the band has been bathed in colored light, with shapes and patterns floating above the members’ heads, often mirroring the unpredictable and mesmerizing journey that defines its music. Yet here, the band is brightly lit for its Tiny Desk (home) concert — which it filmed at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), playing new songs from its 11th studio album Time Skiffs — and the band’s musical journey remains transfixing. The four members known by their monikers Deakin, Panda Bear, Avey Tare and Geologist are joined by a silent “time skiff rider,“ dressed mysteriously in a hooded robe, who cuts paper shapes at a tiny desk as the band’s music unfolds. The set begins as Animal Collective’s new album opens, with “Dragon Slayer“ morphing into “Car Keys.“ The abstract words ping back and forth between Deakin, Panda Bear and Avey Tare, resembling a secret code to which only they hold the key: “I saw a red kite fly / Was it held by an anchor? / I saw a red kite burn / I saw a string gone astray.“ The final track “Kings Walk“ is for those truly dedicated to the collective. It’s an unreleased, vocal-heavy song that Animal Collective has been performing since 2019. With lyrics as abstract as Mary Lum’s Assembly (Lorem Ipsum), the artwork filling the MASS MoCA walls behind the band, the music feels challenging, not always welcoming. It’s a path in music that perhaps you’ve never taken, but may want to take again once you do.
