American experimental group Animal Collective have dropped the final preview for their upcoming album. “We Go Back” was released at the beginning of the month ahead of the band’s new album Time Skiffs, set to be released on 4th February 2022 via British independent label Domino. The band took to Instagram to share the release of their new single.
“We Go Back” is the fourth single to be taken from the band’s forthcoming album, and was accompanied by an official music video. Directed by Canadian animator Winston Hacking, the single’s video is a colourful trip into an imagination fuelled world. Hacking is known for his psychedelic work and has teamed up with various artists including Flying Lotus and Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf.
Speaking on his experience working with Animal Collective, Hacking has stated, “It was a thrill to work with Animal Collective – they trusted our sense of play and commitment to spontaneity which is mirrored in their sound, The video is composed of scanned locations, miniature sets and collage cut outs that embrace the low-fi 3d aesthetic inherent in photogrammetry.”
The press release provides the following description for the album, “These nine songs are love letters, distress signals, en plein air observations, and relaxation hymns, the collected transmissions of four people who have grown into relationships and parenthood and adult worry. But they are rendered with Animal Collective’s singular sense of exploratory wonder, same as they ever were. There are harmonies so rich you want to skydive through their shared air, textures so fascinating you want to decode their sorcery, rhythms so intricate you want to untangle their sources. Here is Animal Collective past 20, still in search of what’s next.”
The group’s upcoming album, Time Skiffs, is the group’s eleventh studio album and their first full album in over five years. The album’s lead single entitled “Prester John” was released on 20th October 2021, “Walker” was the album’s second single and was released on 13th December 2021. The track was primarily written and released as a tribute to pop icon Scott Walker, the singer who tragically lost his life in 2019 whilst the group were working on new music. The third track to be taken from the album “Strung With Everything” was released on 19th January 2022 and also was accompanied by an animated music video.
The band recently treated ticketholders at Pitchfork Music Festival 2021 to a live performance that included two unreleased tracks from Time Skiffs. The album tracks featured in the set were “Car Keys” and “Dragon Slayer”, the group also performed “In The Flowers” taken from their eighth studio album Merriweather Post Pavilion.
The quartet is set to hit the road next month for the US leg of their 2022 tour, the fifteen-date series will kickstart on 8th March 2022 with a performance in Richmond, VA and will conclude on 26th March 2022 with a set in Atlanta GA. The UK and European tour dates are set to begin on 7th September at Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival, and after the Spanish event, the group will perform five dates in Ireland and the UK. The UK leg concludes with a set in Glasgow on 9th September 2022 before returning to Europe for the remaining ten dates before the tour’s final performance in Germany on 27th November 2022.
Time Skiffs will be available to purchase on multiple formats including CD, 2XLP and via digital streaming platforms. The Domino store has also opened pre-orders for a limited edition deluxe 2XLP on starburst ruby and black vinyl.
Animal Collective UK Tour dates
02/11/2022 – Dolan’s – Limerick
03/11 – National Concert Hall – Dublin
06/11 – SWX – Bristol
07/11 – Albert Hall – Manchester
09/11 – Saint Luke’s – Glasgow
Click here to purchase tickets.
Click here to watch the Pitchfork Music Festival 2021 set.
Click here to pre-order Time Skiffs.
Photo credit: Hisham Bharoocha/Press Release
