It was 19th February 2016, and it was finally here. Animal Collective’s new album Painting With. I’ve gotta tell you, I was very exciting for that record’s arrival. Having caught up on the majority of the group’s discography through 2013/14, Painting With was the first record of theirs that I was waiting for as a proper fan of their music. ‘FloriDada’ was revealed as its first single in November of the previous year, around the same time that Ween announced they were getting back together (that’s a whole other topic.) I joined the AnCo subreddit to witness the hype and clamouring among fans. Before I could blink, February arrived. I was working at a music magazine, so I could get away with having Spotify open all the time on the desktop. At some point, I went on there, pressed play, let the whole album play out, an by the end… I thought it was okay.
Painting With didn’t leave too much of a big impression, I’m sorry to say. Not to say I was disappointed in it, though. The majority of the songs just didn’t latch onto me that securely. Well, except for two big exceptions. Those being ‘Bagels in Kiev’ and ‘Recycling’, today’s topic of conversation, the track that closes the album out altogether. That track takes a while to get going. A lot of synthesizer work goes on until a stomping rhythm sets in and Panda Bear and Avey Tare trade vocals in the polarizing hocketing technique that is present throughout the album. The hocketing was something I recall fans having hot debates about in those first few days after the release. A lot just weren’t feeling it from the getgo. On some tracks, it does feel a bit egregious. ‘Summing the Wretch’, in my opinion, the worst offender. On ‘Recycling’, the hocketing makes Panda Bear and Avey Tare’s respective vocals somewhat interchangeable. Though the former is the lead vocalist here, you can easily sing the latter’s vocal part and notice that it, in its own way, could also act as the main melody too. Props to hocketing in this instance.
So, what’s ‘Recycling’ about? In Panda Bear’s words, it’s about “being a creative person and about making things that are shared with others.” And I can see it. It addresses the different questions that bands/artists ask others/themselves and decisions they make when creating their work. Fancy instruments aren’t needed to make something original. Sometimes it’s best to address your problems with your peers rather than bottle them inside and feel resentment. Smoke some weed, it’ll help you relax. Soak up the unpredictability and embrace it instead of resisting and pushing it away. All some little nuggets of wisdom to pass on, which bring a sense of closure to the album that’s unravelled before your ears. The song’s instrumental rides out for the last 50 seconds, a lot of rhythmic interplay goes on between various keyboard melodies, and it ends with an almost spooky blooping synth that echoes into silence. Sure, Painting With isn’t my favourite Animal Collective project. But I appreciate it for providing ‘Recycling’, it was an instant favourite of mine from that first listen. This thing’s almost 10 years old, lord save us all.