[News] Deakin Speaks on Animal Collectives 10th Studio Album, “Centipede HZ”

When Animal Collective released Merriweather Post Pavilion, they had managed to contain their experimental side, while still adding explosions of psychedelic sound that was accessible both to new and old listeners. Giving the band the boost they needed both publicity and fan wise, many long time listeners are starting to worry about the mainstream influence in the bands upcoming 10th studio album, Centipede Hz. While I think it’s safe to say Animal Collective will not be featuring Skrillex on Centipede Hz, this is what AC member John “Deakin” Dibb had to say about the upcoming project:

I remember saying, “This is going to be harder for people to swallow.” There’s no doubt about it: people are going to react to this. It wasn’t being bummed about it or a critical comment of the music or anything ¬— I’m really stoked and I think the record’s amazing, personally. But there was an instant melodic gratification to Merriweather and I think we intentionally made a record this time that is a lot more … um … [laughs] We took a left turn at weird town. For the most part, every song, in terms of the way the record is laid out and the choices we made sonically, is way more challenging. And that’s been verified by every person I’ve played it for so far. People have said they love the record. Friends of ours have said it took them two or three times to even understand it. Merriweather is not that. From the first note of Merriweather you’re like, “Oh my God, I just wanna dance” or “My heart’s exploding.” This is more like, “This is amazing but I’m confused and I don’t quite know what’s going on and I think I need to listen to it again and maybe I should turn it off.”

Centipede Hz drops September 4th. Check out the bands upcoming tour dates below.

Animal Collective 2012 Tour Dates:
09-18 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
09-19 Vancouver, British Columbia – Malkin Bowl
09-20 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
09-21 Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre
09-22 Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre
09-23 Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Bowl
09-25 Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
09-27 Dallas, TX – House Of Blues
09-28 Austin, TX – The Backyard at Bee Cave
09-29 New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
09-30 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
10-02 Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
10-03 Philadelphia, PA – Mann Centre for Performing Arts
10-05 Brooklyn, NY – Williamsburg Park
11-01 Utrecht, Netherlands – Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn
11-02 Paris, France – Pitchfork Music Festival Paris
11-03 Strasbourg, France – La Laiterie
11-04 London, England – Roundhouse
11-06 Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
11-07 Glasgow, Scotland – Glasgow ABC1
11-08 Manchester, England – The Warehouse Project
11-09 Tourcoing, France – Le Grand Mix
11-10 Antwerp, Belgium – Trix Club
11-12 Copenhagen, Denmark – CPH: DOX at the National Art Gallery
11-13 Göteborg, Sweden – Pustervik
11-14 Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Medis
11-15 Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
11-16 Lund, Sweden – Mejeriet
11-17 Weissenhauser, Germany – Rolling Stone Weekender
11-18 Berlin, Germany – Astra Kulturhaus
11-19 Lausanne, Switzerland – Les Docks
11-20 Zürich, Switzerland – X-tra