Animal Collective

Creating a twisted musical language all their own, Animal Collective grew from a closely knit group of childhood friends with exploratory tastes into world-famous recording stars, defining the face of independent experimental rock during the 2000s and 2010s. Teenage interest in Pavement, Pink Floyd, and Sun City Girls expanded into an appreciation for more experimental sounds as the band developed and incorporated the influence of minimal techno, Krautrock, avant-garde composers, and slasher movie soundtracks. Relocating from the Baltimore area to New York City for college, early iterations of the band performed alongside like-minded noise rock acts like Black Dice and Oneida, releasing albums that switched gears from one to the next -- from sprawling, uneasy experimental sounds to placid backyard acoustic affairs.