The band has released fourteen albums: "Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished" (2000), "Danse Manatee" (2001), "Campfire Songs" (2003), "Here Comes the Indian" (2003), "Sung Tongs" (2004), "Feels" (2005), "Strawberry Jam" (2007), "Merriweather Post Pavilion" (2009), "Centipede Hz" (2012), "Painting With" (2016), "Tangerine Reef" (2018), "Crestone" (2021), "Time Skiffs" (2022), and "Isn't It Now?" (2023). They also composed and performed the soundtrack for the 2022 film, The Inspection, directed by Elegance Bratton and produced by A24.
Prior to "Here Comes the Indian", the group's albums were not credited to the band name "Animal Collective" but instead to "Avey Tare & Panda Bear" (for "Spirit"), "Avey Tare, Panda Bear & Geologist" (for "Danse") and "Campfire Songs" (for "Campfire Songs").
The band members met in school and started recording together in various forms of collaboration from a young age. Although the band is often classified as psych folk or noise rock, it is hard to define the Animal Collective sound as they often experiment with diverse styles and ideas from album to album. The group also runs the record label Paw Tracks on which they have released their own material as well as material by artists such as Ariel Pink, Terrestrial Tones, and The Peppermints. Paw Tracks' latest signee is Tickley Feather, with whom the band recently toured.
Fickle Cycle
Animal Collective Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sun dried cheeks and sun dyed grains
Spilled in the house that they leave like geese
Travel in the night like a pearl thief
Believe in ghosts and set them free
Bury your heart, don’t shake that sheet
Give your teeth to the crocodile cave
Twisting heads with the sounds of change
Change so often they’ll be dead
Kissing the people that you’ll all burn
Trusting your friends without thinking best
Leaving yourself to kill your grief
Rooms can be lonely, but that don’t mean
I want a son who can float and fly
I’ll take a daughter who laughs and cries
When you are home you can do as you please
Some have homes in falling trees
One day our homes will all fall down
One day your body will be in the ground
When I wonder
I often sit wondering, my brain gets so delirious
When I wonder
When ghosts from other places come and meet me do I know that they’re a friend?
When I wonder
I often sit wondering, my brain gets so delirious
When I wonder
When ghosts from other places come and meet me do I know that they’re a friend?
Time to feast, don’t wait to play
?
Off in the dust where they feel like kings
Some got hurt and some did sing
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder
Who will win?
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder
Wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder
Who will win?
Bad feelings I know
Good silence means we're home
The lyrics of Animal Collective's "Fickle Cycle" are enigmatic and open to interpretation. On one level, the song can be seen as a reflection on the transience of life and the inevitability of death. The opening lines, "Tykes who feast but do not pray / Sun dried cheeks and sun dyed grains," suggest carefree youth living for the moment without regard for the future. The following lines, "Spilled in the house that they leave like geese / Travel in the night like a pearl thief," invoke images of transience, movement, and impermanence.
The song goes on to explore the themes of ghosts, friendship, and family. The chorus, "When I wonder / I often sit wondering, my brain gets so delirious / When I wonder / When ghosts from other places come and meet me do I know that they’re a friend?" suggests a sense of curiosity and openness to the mysteries of life. The later lines, "I want a son who can float and fly / I’ll take a daughter who laughs and cries," express a desire for freedom, expansiveness, and emotional depth.
Line by Line Meaning
Tykes who feast but do not pray
Children who indulge and live recklessly without any concern for religion and prayer.
Sun dried cheeks and sun dyed grains
Dry and parched skin with crops that have been cultivated under the harsh sun.
Spilled in the house that they leave like geese
Making a mess in their homes and leaving it untidy, resembling how geese leave their feathers behind.
Travel in the night like a pearl thief
Moving around stealthily in the night, like a thief stealing pearls.
Believe in ghosts and set them free
Believing in the supernatural and letting go of the fear associated with ghosts.
Bury your heart, don’t shake that sheet
Hiding away one's emotions rather than openly displaying them.
Give your teeth to the crocodile cave
Sacrificing oneself or something valuable to a place or a situation that might harm you instead of benefitting you.
Under my wings and on my head
Beneath my protection and care, and above all other things.
Twisting heads with the sounds of change
Causing confusion and discomfort with new sounds that are unfamiliar and different.
Change so often they’ll be dead
Constantly changing without any direction or purpose, leading to eventual downfall.
Kissing the people that you’ll all burn
Befriending people who will ultimately cause harm or lead to a destructive outcome.
Trusting your friends without thinking best
Blindly relying on friends without giving much thought to the consequences of their actions.
Leaving yourself to kill your grief
Intentionally tormenting oneself in order to alleviate feelings of sadness or grief.
Rooms can be lonely, but that don’t mean
Solitude is not always a negative thing.
I want a son who can float and fly
Desiring a child who is free-spirited and adventurous.
I’ll take a daughter who laughs and cries
Preferring a child who is expressive and emotional without any reservations.
When you are home you can do as you please
One can act according to their own whims and fancies in the safety and comfort of their home.
Some have homes in falling trees
Some people feel at home even in the most unstable of situations.
One day our homes will all fall down
Accepting the inevitability of destruction and physical decay.
One day your body will be in the ground
Accepting the inevitability of one's own death and mortality.
When I wonder
I often sit wondering, my brain gets so delirious
When I'm curious, my mind starts racing and I find myself getting lost in my own thoughts.
When ghosts from other places come and meet me do I know that they’re a friend?
Questioning the supernatural and the possibility of it being friendly or harmful.
Time to feast, don’t wait to play
Take advantage of the present moment and indulge yourself without delay.
Off in the dust where they feel like kings
Living in poor conditions that one may feel comfortable or powerful in.
Some got hurt and some did sing
Some people are able to overcome adversity and exude positivity, while others suffer and feel pain as a result of the same situation.
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder
Who will win?
Questioning the outcome of a particular situation or event.
Bad feelings I know
Good silence means we're home
Negative emotions are familiar to me, but peace and contentment are found in silence and solitude.
Contributed by Charlotte J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.