Avey Tare – 7s

Animal Collective’s 2009 album ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ set a fresh benchmark for indie’s left-field, leaving entire genres in its wake. Somewhat oddly, a follow-up wasn’t apparent for three years, with the band immediately splintering into solo cells. Last year’s outstanding ‘Time Skiffs’ represented Animal Collective’s finest in a decade, and – true to form – they’ve immediately pulled themselves apart to focus on solo endeavours.

Avey Tare’s new album ‘7s’ sits in the shadow of ‘Time Skiffs’, but it contains a curious character of its own. Featuring – naturally enough – seven tracks, it both nods to some of the conduits of Animal Collective’s work, while also injecting something different. Opener ‘Invisible Darlings’ is an extra-dimensional piece of DIY synth pop, moving from angelic vocal melodies through to underwater effects.

‘Lips At Night’ continues this directness, the cute counter melodies sitting against the deft acoustic guitar work. It’s nice, but undiverting. Indeed, ‘7s’ risks becoming insubstantial before Avey Tare injects a dollop of unbridled progressive creativity into eight minute workout ‘Hey Bog’. A cellular piece of songwriting, it’s almost a mini-album in its own right, containing some breathtaking dips and turns.

Swiftly followed by the equally daring ‘Sweeper’s Grin’, this is Avey Tare at his most hallucinogenic, messing up the senses to create his own audio pathways. Closing with the (relatively) succinct ‘Neurons’ and the woozy, Tobacco-esque ‘Cloud Stop Rest Start’, this project is a mixed success. Rejoicing in solitary flavours, it flirts with self-indulgence, pulled out of its stupor by Avey Tare’s innate melodic flair. At one point he sings: “What good could the news do when you’re always sleeping?” Well, quite. ‘7s’ is a work of respite from a harsh world.

7/10

Words: Robin Murray