Recording information: WaveLab Studio, Tucson, AZ.

Few bands of the 2000s have offered as many surprises as Animal Collective. Their unique, brain-bending synthesis of tribal rhythms, layered production, high-flung harmonies, and freak-out sonics send listeners back to childhood and into the future all at once. Fortunately for fans, Panda Bear, Avey Tare, and the rest of the Collective are also prolific. The four-song EP WATER CURSES appeared a mere nine months after their stunning full-length STRAWBERRY JAM.

Three of the songs on WATER CURSES are actually outtakes from the STRAWBERRY JAM sessions. The title track opener pulses along with cool, psychedelic glee, melding a tropicalia groove with a campfire singalong. The equally appealing "Street Flash" recalls the melodic spaciousness of Panda Bear's solo album PERSON PITCH. The last cut, "Seal Eyeing," was created by Avey Tare for a compilation representing Brooklyn musicians. WATER CURSES is familiar territory for Animal Collective in that it's unfamiliar, gorgeous, challenging, and absolutely worth hearing.