Following their decision to debut their upcoming album “Painting With” at Baltimore’s international airport Thanksgiving weekend, experimental indie-rock band Animal Collective continued to play with unconventional release strategies by debuting their latest single, “Lying in the Grass,” with an iOS app.
The app, named after the album, is a painting app which allows users to draw on their phone — either alone or online with someone else — for the duration of the new song. Shadows of each brush stroke dance to the beat of the music. While this is neither the best of many painting apps on the app store (it lacks a default black brush or an eraser) nor the most convenient way to listen to a song, it deserves appreciation for what it is. Not only is it a goofy way of debuting a song a few days prior to the more traditional release, but it also takes the title “Painting With” literally — you could, in theory, match up with members of the band. Other features of the app include a strobe light which uses the phone’s flashlight — for use with the vinyl version of the album — and the ability to record and save the video of your drawings.
“Lying in the Grass” follows the incredibly catchy “FloriDada” with a bit of the more out-there sound Animal Collective is generally known for. Featuring Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) as the lead vocalist — he generally takes the lead a couple songs per album — the vocals melodically resemble the style of Panda Bear’s most recent solo album, “Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper,” especially songs like “Mr Noah” and “Boys Latin.” Combining bubbly synth and background grunts of “ah uh ee eh” with little touches of piano and jazzy woodwind, the song fluctuates between a produced and more natural sound. While the track has a layered structure, it manages its many elements without ever sounding too crowded.
“Lying in the Grass” is the second single from the album “Painting With,” which is due out Feb. 19.
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