"It seems like a challenge to make something that you have to pay a lot of attention to," says Josh Dibbs, a/k/a Deakin, in response to the observation that Animal Collective's latest, Centipede Hz (Domino), is hard to digest. He recalls the first time that he ever truly got the album: "I put it on in my car at the beginning of a road trip, the sun was shining, it was late spring, it was two o'clock in the afternoon, the windows were down, I was in Georgia heading south, and it just rocked."
A decade on, the Baltimore quartet know that their whims will constantly alienate one group of fans in favor of another. Dibbs confides that while such complications are difficult, the band mostly ignore them. They're now playing in front of a "hyper-color" Cirque de Soleil–esque set and, although it might seem unnecessary, Dibbs states that they've always wanted to create a space that feels "sacred." And whatever sounds Animal Collective can play with in this sacred space are fair game — they're all elements that create the necessary chemical reactions.
But what's important is that they give themselves flexibility. After a sabbatical during the making of 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion, Dibbs returned to the fold energized. "I feel as much part of the story of Animal Collective helping Dave [Portner, a/k/a Avey Tare] record his last solo record as I do working on this last record," says Dibbs. "We're looking to the next classic Animal Collective breakdown period."
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ANIMAL COLLECTIVE + DAN DEACON :: House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St, Boston :: March 7 @ 7pm :: All-Ages :: 25 to $35 :: 888.693.2583 or hob.com/boston
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