Cut of the Day: Animal Eyes, "Mushroom Hunter"

The psychedelic Alaskan transplants show a controlled and harmonious new direction.

Portland-via-Alaska psychedelic explorers Animal Eyes have a new album coming out in May, called Where We Go, but the new single is actually an old one. "Mushroom Hunter" has been on their Bandcamp page since last July and in their sets for longer, but it offers a glimpse at…wait for it…where the band is going next.

It's a bit more controlled than much of what Animal Eyes has released previously, with a glistening little guitar motif, bird-call harmonies, eight-bit synth squiggles and a subtle reggae lilt which, to these ears, recalls—no shit, and with seriously no offense meant at all—"Who's Got The Herb?" by 311. (Maybe I'm nuts, but compare the harmonies and the underlying guitar pattern. Look, the joke is mostly on me for even knowing what that song sounds like.) Sorry, Animal Eyes guys. If it makes you feel any better, in its more dynamic moments, the song also recalls Z-era My Morning Jacket. We still think that album is good, right?

Anyway, it's a cool song. Where We Go is out May 20.

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