Animal Collective Talk Their Very Physical and Visceral Return with 'Centipede Hz'

Published Sep 04, 2012

Today, Animal Collective will release their ninth studio album, Centipede Hz . The record is widely anticipated, and considering it marks a few different returns for the band, it should be.Perhaps the most notable highlighthas to offer is the return of Josh Dibb (aka Deakin). Sitting out for 2009's landmark Merriweather Post Pavilion , his return helped the four-piece band reconfigure their ever-evolving sound."Deakin contributed a fair amount to how dense the music sounds," admits Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) in an Exclaim! interview. "Having another musician, character and group of sounds there in the music helped it feel more full-bodied. I doubt we would have kept going in the direction we did without him. My guess would be that it would be a lot emptier without Josh there."Deakin's presence helped Animal Collective bring more of a physical presence to the new songs, following's most fluid, synth-based approach."We were all excited about doing something more physical and performance based," says Lennox. "The last album, we would do shows and I would come off stage without even breaking a sweat. It was all very mental, manipulating sequences of sounds. It was a lot more in the fingers than in the mind. So we wanted to do something more visceral."Bringing this live band sound to the album also allowed Lennox to get behind the drum kit for the first time in nine years. Judging by the excitement from his voice when asked about he, it was something he's been waiting to do for a long time."I was really psyched on that," he says. "The last time was probably, so 2003. I'd played drums, but it was always standing up and a minimal kind of kit. So to sit down and get the full-on experience was really satisfying. Wanting to make this music that was physical and visceral, it was the most immediate way in doing that drumming."is out now on Domino , and you can see all the band's upcoming tour stops below. Also, check out more of Exclaim!'s Animal Collective interview here Tour dates:9/18 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre9/19 Vancouver, BC - Malkin Bowl9/20 Portland, OR - The Crystal Ballroom9/21 Oakland, CA - The Fox Theatre9/23 Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl9/25 Las Vegas, NV - The House of Blues Los Angeles9/27 Dallas, TX - The House of Blues9/28 Austin, TX - The Backyard9/29 New Orleans, LA - The House of Blues New Orleans9/30 Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle10/2 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion10/3 Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for the Performing Arts10/5 Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg Park11/1 Utrecht, Netherlands - Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn11/2 Paris, France - Pitchfork Music Festival Paris11/3 Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie11/4 London, England - Roundhouse11/6 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street11/7 Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow ABC111/8 Manchester, England - The Warehouse Project11/9 Tourcoing, France - Le Grand Mix11/10 Antwerp, Belgium - Trix Club11/12 Copenhagen, Denmark - CPH: DOX at the National Art Gallery11/13 Göteborg, Sweden - Pustervik11/14 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis11/15 Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene11/16 Lund, Sweden - Mejeriet11/17 Weissenhauser, Germany - Rolling Stone Weekender11/18 Berlin, Germany - Astra Kulturhaus11/19 Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks11/20 Zürich, Switzerland - X-tra