The Residents — Animal Lover- Evolution Edition

First released in 2005, Animal Lover was the twenty-fifth album from those avant-pop/ prime sonic experimenters, The Residents. It featured fifteen tracks, been a concept album focusing on the relationship between human beings, industry, and nature. With a sound that mixed uneasy nursery rhymes melodies, off-Broadway musical sinisterness, tolling gamelan percussion with elements of searing to wonkily moody guitars, and off-kilter electronica. From Cherry Red/MVD Audio, here is the next in the 'Preserved Series'- which sees the definitive release of classic Residents albums- that features unreleased/rare bonus tracks and a new remastering.

The three-CD set and inlay booklet come presented in a six-panel mini gatefold presentation, which features album artwork, lyrics, and the ‘band’ in their birthday suits. The set's twenty-five-page booklet includes a new five-page write-up about the original album by Jim Knipfel. There’s picture art showing naked male rock-headed figures interacting with different animals. A short write-up about each of the animals featured. As well as a write-up about the bonus material, which most fascinatingly largely focuses on, as the release's subtitle suggests, the ‘evolution’ of the material, which shifted through various concepts.

The first disc takes in the original album, plus six tracks/ animals. The album opens with “On The Way ( To Oklahoma)” which finds wonkily jigging synth strings/ gamelan tones, blended with the singing Resident’s voice fed through an electro effect. The track later on breaks down into mournful trumpeting/ lightly tolling gamelan with a singsong male/ female chorus. As we move through the album, we come to the steady tolling harp/ clean guitar tones, wavering old women lead vocals, and warbling off-Broadway vocals of “What Have My Chickens Done Now?”. Moving into the second half, we have "Mother No More" with its stabbing synth strings, wonky jiving horn work, and warbling/ wavering female vocals, with jagged guitar touches, and more swooning female chorus vocals. The hauntingly tolling avant-pop meets the shimmering joint female vocalising of “The Whispering Boys”. With the album playing out with the nearing six and a half minutes of “Burn My Bones” which is a sinfully dense mix of discordant blues guitar picks & plucks, wailing/ wavering vocalising, tolling/ darting percussion, with dark male chanting, with rich/ but sorrowful male vocal briefly coming into play. As an album, Animal Lover is a darkly consistent, at times downright uneasy record, with moments of groove, off-Broadway vibes, and of course, that highly distinctive Residents flavour.

The second disc in the set is entitled Animal Evolutions Parts 1-3, and as it suggests, this takes in three quite different instrumental versions of the tracks, with different themes attached to each. First up is The Civil War Project (2001), this subsection takes in ten tracks- moving between a mix of synth pipings & electro gamelan dartings, onto dramatically waltzing keys and darting vibe runs, though to a blend of angular synth & blip-ploping electronics. The next subsection is Feast Of Epiphany (Jan-Fall 2003), and once again it takes in ten tracks. They move between blends of clean/ tolling guitars & gamelan chimings, onto mixes of gentle darting keys and eastern string-like twang. The third/ final subsection of this disc is Tiger Love (Aug 2003 – Apr 2004) (Developments By Carla & Nolan), which takes in the remaining eight tracks. These move between mixes of sinisterly simmering synth groove, steadily choppy guitar/ string tones, and choral swoon. Onto a blend of soaring ‘n’ searing guitar stabs, steadily bounding bass, and sinister key jabs. And mixes of moodily tolling clean guitars, piping synthic horns, and hints of brooding bass tone dwell.

Moving on to the third disc, this is entitled Animal Evolution Part 4. It features a total of twenty-two tracks, some of which feature vocals. The first sub-selection of tracks is entitled Feast Of Manias / Beta 1 (Apr - Aug 2004), where the sound moves between American folk meets brooding musical vibe, onto jiving samba meets avant pop, through to electro rock meets forceful female chorusing, and beyond. The next sub-section is Left Over From The Feast, which moves between jaunting ethnic vibe & synth workouts, and joyful organ/ pomp horns & percussion marches. Finally, we have Imaginary Jack- In this subsection, we move from blends of knotting/ tight bass groove and hissing ‘n’ baying vocal. Onto a mix of jerking electro beat work, warbling choral vocals, and funfair electronica.

It, of course, goes without saying that it’s great to have a new version of the Animal Lover album, as it stands with the best of the project’s post-2000s output. But really, the big pull for a long-term fan like myself is the evolution discs, and these were not let down, offering up fascinating track sketches and very different takes/ themes for tracks I already know well. If you’re a fan of the Rez, or just curious about their post-2000 output, it’s a must!