Wake up, check phone, check Facebook, check emails, check Twitter, wait 10 minutes then check again. That’s the cyclic pattern of the omnipresent connectivity that we’ve allowed to take over our lives. An addiction to the instant gratification of having all our friends with us, all the time. It’s this structure of life played out in the virtual beehive that Animal Collective’s latest track Honeycomb embodies.
Like most Animal Collective tracks, it defies simple genre definition. Its warped yet geometric rhythms, melting bass lines and mixture of samples with other techniques too numerous to mention, only reveals its delights with multiple listens. Floating above this order masquerading as chaos are Avey Tare’s vocals, which find that sweet yet modern Beach Boy sound that has become the hallmark of Animal Collectives recordings. His simple repetition of “How many times you say” with it’s variant endings give the listener a framework in which to process the tracks complexities, a thread that they can confidently identify, helping them to process a recording which can at times overwhelm. It’s a skill Animal Collective have mastered and one which puts them amongst a select group of musicians. Those who make music thats equally stimulating and entertaining.
In full flow the track is an addictive delight that's suffused with a claustrophobia inducing quality; and it’s this duality that brings to mind the modern hyper connected life. A synthetic world which we willingly submit to for its ease, entertainment and comforting qualities. Knowing that every new friend request, follow and message erodes our privacy. Maybe it’s this reason that we all take liberties with the truth on the net? We’re busy painting over the grey truths of a mundane life in technicolour. Resulting in a hive of memories and friendships of how we’d like to be seen, rather than who we really are.
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