Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished

Infobox Album | Name = Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished
Type = Album
Artist = Avey Tare and Panda Bear


Released = 2000
Recorded = 1999
Genre = Avant-garde music/Indie rock
Length = 60:38
Label = Animal FatCat Records
Producer =
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:mxfibkh9aakb link]
*Pitchfork (8.9/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/22460/Avey_Tare_and_Panda_Bear_Spirit_Theyre_Gone_Spirit_Theyve_Vanished link]
*"PopMatters" [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/a/animalcollective-spirit.shtml 11/13/05]
*Piero Scaruffi (7.5/10) [http://www.scaruffi.com/vol7/animalco.html link]
*Tiny Mix Tapes Rating|5|5 [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/musicreviews/a/animal_collective.htm link] | Chronology = Animal Collective
Last album =
This album = "Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" (2000)
Next album = "Danse Manatee" (2001)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternative Cover
Lower caption = Spirit/Danse Reissue Cover
Type = album

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"Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" is the first album by New York based band Animal Collective, released in 2000 under the name "Avey Tare and Panda Bear". The album was released as a CD on the band's own Animal label (now known as Paw Tracks); only a very limited amount of copies were made. It has since been re-released as a double CD along with Danse Manatee in 2003 on FatCat Records.

Background

All of the songs were written by Avey Tare (David Portner) from 1997 to 1999, except for "Penny Dreadfuls" which was written when he was 16 years old. Avey Tare and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) recorded the acoustic guitar and the drums live onto a Tascam 48 1/2 inch eight-track reel-to-reel in Avey's bedroom in Maryland during the summer of 1999. The piano songs along with overdubs were recorded in Avey's parents' living room.

A Roland SH-2 synthesizer was used for the bass sounds. The drums were played with brushes to emulate the albums Ocean Rain and Forever Changes. Avey Tare would dictate what he wanted the rhythm to be through beatboxing. Other sounds, such as the majority of "Spirit They've Vanished", were created through the use of feedback loops.

Artwork

The original cover art was found by Avey who thought that it fit nicely. The album was intended to be released under Avey Tare's name alone, but he was so impressed by Panda Bear's drumming that he added Panda's name on the front cover. This method of choosing monikers for Animal Collective's recorded output--naming themselves after who played on each respective album--would last until 2003's Campfire Songs.

Included with the original release was an insert with the following story:

"Not long ago a young boy named Avey and his friend Panda Bear roamed the patch work which covers the land (some call it forest). They were looked upon by Pan and raised by fairies and the Angels of light who play deep within the Wood. 'Let's make the music of childhood,' Avey shouted one day as the two played. Panda thought this idea was a good one. 'I can use my magical Rhythm sticks and you can play your Sun harp,' he said. So the two began to create melodies and Panda brought rhythms from every direction while Avey sang. All of the songs were about wooden toys and invisible friends and filled with the light of the forest. This is the first group of songs they played."

Track listing

#"Spirit They've Vanished" – 5:35
#"April and the Phantom" – 5:53
#"Untitled" – 2:59
#"Penny Dreadfuls" – 7:59
#"Chocolate Girl" – 8:28
#"Everyone Whistling" – 1:00
#"La Rapet" – 7:52
#"Bat You'll Fly" – 5:03
#"Someday I'll Grow to Be as Tall as the Giant" – 3:10
#"Alvin Row" – 12:39

There has been some confusion about the album's tracklisting. On the original, limited release, the untitled track #3 was not listed along with the other songs. Since the tracklisting gave no corresponding track numbers to the rest of the songs, it was incorrectly assumed that tracks #4-10 were actually #3-9, and that "Alvin Row" had no title. This error appears in nearly every review of "Spirit" following its initial release in 2000. The 2003 Fat Cat reissue cleared up this misunderstanding by numbering the songs and leaving a blank space for track #3.

Personnel

*Avey Tare - acoustic guitar, piano, vocals, Sequential Circuits, synthesizers, tapes
*Panda Bear - "perfect percussion"