Animal sounds intrigue

What makes The Sound of Animals Fighting such an intriguing band has just as much to do with their music as it does with the members involved. The act consists of members of Circa Survive and RX Bandits, and each member wears an animal mask over their head to conceal in an effort to focus the attention strictly on the music itself.  

On The Ocean and The Sun, The Sound of Animals Fighting return with their four original members, known as the skunk, the nightingale, the walrus and the lynx and with great success.  

Most contemporary artists of the day can easily be divided into the numerous genres used to organize all the music, but few bands can transcend conventional labels and define themselves as unique in the abundant world of tags as The Sound of Animals Fighting do.

The group, which can best be described as an experimental sound project, makes what should be the components of unorganized sounds into innovative and ear pleasing music.

With the release of their third album The Ocean and the Sun, The Sound of Animals Fighting have combined the best features of their two previous albums Lover, The Lord has Left Us and Tiger & the Duke.

In a highly difficult and unique way of recording, the members of The Sound of Animals Fighting each lay down their parts independently without any foreknowledge of how the song will sound.  This method creates a medley of lyrics and instruments that (for the most part) fit together in melodic and surprising ways.

Stand out tracks on The Ocean and the Sun include the title track, “I, The Swan,” “Another Leather Lung” and “Uzbekistan.”  

And although these tracks alone make the album worth listening to, the rest of the songs are disappointing and uneven. Yet, overall this tour-de-force of sound is worth checking out for intrigue alone.