The EP Conference of Birds/Birds in Disguise recreates five songs Avey Tare (aka Dave Portner) wrote and played live during his Eucalyptus and Cows on Hourglass Pond tours. Like the two solo discs—and indeed, like the recent work of Animal Collective — the songs alternate between tone-washed mystical auras and bouncy, dance-y raves. This bird-themed recording breaks down into two distinct sides. Conference of Birds — encompassing “Midnight Special,” “Red Light Water Show” and “Disc One”—has a euphoric air, whether in the dopplering guitar and distant voiced soundscapes of the opener (“Midnight Special”) or the gentle undulations of “Disc One,” the catchiest, most melodic song on the EP. “Red Light Water Show” splits the difference between hook and atmosphere with oscillating keyboard riffs that split the time in twos and fours and high chanting vocals that crest over a burble of noise and glitch.
The Birds in Disguise side runs incrementally more abrasively. Its exuberance is sweatier, more physical and less celebratory than the opening’s cerebral whoosh and hum. A wheezing buzz marks out dystopian time in “Enjoy the Change,” sounding a bit like the siren-y riff in ESG’s “UFO,” then eighth-banging percussion bumps up the tension. There’s a claustrophobic tautness in this cut very much at odds with “Disc One”’s dayglo colored joys. “Uncle Donut” dials up the rhythm further, with a syncopated cadence in percussion and chant; it is very much in line with the rave-y, drum-heavy experience of a live Animal Collective show.
Fans of Avey Tare, and of Animal Collective in general, will find much to like in this brief recording. If nothing else it’s more of what they do, which lots and lots of people like very much. Does it break down the barriers, explore new territory, redefine how you think of Avey Tare (assuming that you do think of him)? It does not. But it shimmers and envelops and bops in a satisfying way, and will perhaps, hold you until the next full length from Portner solo or his more famous band. From: https://dustedmagazine.tumblr.com/post/190124837243/avey-tare-conference-of-birdsbirds-in-disguise
