The Sound of Animals Fighting

The Sounds of Animals Fighting is a bit of a wink-nudge supergroup that formed in the emo scene. The members of TSOAF operate under the cover of night and anonymity, concealing their identities and wearing masks. Perhaps that's a good thing, since The Ocean and the Sun is an odd little record, and their record companies probably don't want their contracted artists recording music for other labels!

With this album, there's hardly any form or structure to the songs, and that's due to the fact that the members don't get into a studio to write or record any of the songs. Rather, they choose to work in a piecemeal fashion, emailing parts of songs to one another and having the next member add his stamp on to what was already done by a different member of the collective. It's an unorthodox way to compose, but TSOAF can't do anything like this in the members' main bands, since it doesn't aesthetically fit and would probably cause an out and out fan revolt.

As a result, The Ocean and the Sun is a self-indulgent platter that doesn't have any ebb and flow and remains a bit hard to follow. It's more like background music when you want to do nothing but veg on the couch and not think. While we can appreciate a forward-thinking, artsy concept such as this, it doesn't lend itself to easy digestion. The songs shift from mellow and frothy to harsh and aggressive, often within a single breath. It's enough to fuck with your equilibrium and knock you off balance. "Another Leather Lung" is the best example of these clashing sounds and sonic forces. It's followed by the uber-quiet "Lube." The weirdest number is "Cellophane," which begins with an eerie vibe before metamorphosing into a free jazz jam that's replete with scrappy riffs and off-kilter harmonized vocals. It's a lot to swallow a single sitting.

While The Sounds of Animals Fighting defies categorization and classification with its way out there compositions, which is a goal that many bands today often aspire to achieve, The Ocean and the Sun hangs out a little too close to the "unlistenable" line. We get it. We really do. We comprehend the fact that music can transcend the boundaries and the scope laid forth by songwriters working with confined space in ways such as this. But there is also something to be said about songs for song's sake. This album mixes prog, psychadelia, post-hardcore and experimental musings, but not in a seamless way.

— Amy Sciarretto
09.19.08