More than 900 eager fans flooded the sapphire interior of the Hollywood ArcLight Cinerama Dome on March 22 to experience “ODDSAC” — a spectacle of oozing oil, mutilation and brownie batter fights set to the rich, mesmerizing tones of Animal Collective. The atmosphere was overflowing with anticipation as the college-aged audience, clad in cardigans, tights and plaid button-downs, fell into reverent silence while the curtain lifted to reveal “ODDSAC,” Animal Collective’s first visual album.
Animal Collective, an experimental/freak folk band, has attained a godlike status in the world of indie music. Following 2009’s well received “Merriweather Post Pavilion” and “Fall Be Kind” EP, fans have anticipated nothing but gripping material from the band.
Starting in New York City on March 2, film director Danny Perez and 3 of the 4 Animal Collective members have been touring large cities throughout America to premiere “ODDSAC.” At the end of each showing, Perez and musicians Josh Dibb (a.k.a. Deakin), Brian Weitz (Geologist) and David Portner (Avey Tare) appear on stage for a half-hour question and answer session with the audience.
The first track in the hour-long sequence swung between scenes of a girl struggling to block oil from seeping through her wallpaper and a masked man’s elaborate fire dance in the middle of a darkened field. Other scenes include a grotesque face wrapped in bloody gauze, a vampire canoeing through dark waters and a blonde figure heaving pieces of a drum set across a dry riverbed. In one of the album’s most intense moments, the vampire creeps through a forest towards a family of campers as the track wistfully sings “I want to wrap my arms around you,” followed by a violent episode involving marshmallows.
A surreal depiction of nature is the consistent backdrop to the film, when not interrupted by the frequent extended intervals of colorful static that beautifully complete its sonic appeal. The music features dark, reverberating vocals and tunneled harmonies, as well as unearthly chimes and the euphoric crashing of cymbals to syncopated lyrics.
Following the Hollywood screening, Perez responded ambiguously to questions about the meaning of the film, saying he preferred the focus to be on its metaphoric qualities rather than any literal interpretations. Nonetheless, he acknowledged the intensity of the film, remarking, “I’m not a subtle person and I don’t feel these are subtle mediums.”
Perez described “ODDSAC” as his personal expression of how he sometimes feels about the world and defined its content as both antagonistic and tongue-in-cheek. When asked about his inspirations, he referenced John Carpenter and early Robert Altman movies, proclaiming his desire to re-contextualize familiar concepts in bizarre films.
“ODDSAC” was filmed on the east coast over a period of eight to nine days and features much of its untouched landscape.
“The organic footage of nature, mixed with the weirdness and the abstractions that you wouldn’t really see in nature, represent the music really well because its electric and organic at the same time,” said sophomore Christian Koons.
For a band that is consistently moving forward, “ODDSAC” both fulfilled and surprised all expectations.
“I’ve never seen us as having a linear trajectory,” Portner remarked in a band interview following the film’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January. “I think it fits in musically with, in a certain sense, what we’ve done recently. There are similarities, but I also think it’s something completely different. It stands on its own. It’s a different beast altogether.”
Due to the inseparability of its music and visuals, the album will be released on DVD only on June 29. Where Animal Collective’s next album will venture remains to be seen, but with “ODDSAC” they have certainly taken another firm step forward. Perez mirrored that attitude when speaking about his feelings towards the outcome of “ODDSAC.”
“I wanted to make it so that if it’s the last thing I ever do, I’m still stoked about it,” He declared.
