Sung Tongs

Sung Tongs is the fifth album by Baltimore-based band Animal Collective, released on May 3, 2004 by Fat Cat Records.

Despite the name ‘Animal Collective’ attached to this album, only two of the band’s four members play on it: Avey Tare (David Portner) and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox). As a result, Sung Tongs is a more stripped-down affair than other Animal Collective releases. On the album, Portner and Lennox both utilize acoustic guitars and tribal-like drums; the electric guitar, an important element in the Collective’s previous album, Here Comes the Indian, is nowhere to be found. This sound brought the band closer to the psych folk and freak folk genres that critics tended to group them in around this period.

Sung Tongs is generally considered to be Animal Collective’s breakthrough release; it generated much praise from critics upon its release and was frequently featured in best-of lists at the end of 2004.

Recording
On the Collected Animals message board, Portner talks about the recording equipment:

“Yeah, we recorded it on the same tascam 48 (half inch 8 track) that I recorded Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished on and the drums guitars and early electronics for Danse Manatee. That is we recorded the acoustic guitars and the vocals on 8 tracks. Then we mixed it down on Rusty’s laptop and recorded many vocal and percussion over dubs. He’s been using that for years.