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The Sound of Animals Fighting emerged as a supergroup of sorts in the early to mid-2000s, bringing together musicians from well-known bands in the post hardcore, punk, and other alternative adjacent genres. But where other supergroups have sometimes sounded very close to one or multiple projects its members were involved in, over the course of three albums The Sound of Animals Fighting showcased a level of experimentation that made their material radically different. Initially this came through a more prog oriented approach, but by 2006’s Lover, the Lord Has Left Us… things shifted towards electronics, sound collages, and more abstract and freeform writing. I personally bounced off that sophomore effort, as it never fully came together in a cohesive fashion for me, but 2008’s The Ocean and the Sun bridged the gap between the weird/abstract and more traditional writing in ways that drew me back. At the time it seemed like the swansong for this project, leaving behind a bit of a cult following and some genuinely different albums. In 2022 the band unexpectedly returned with a four song EP titled Apeshit, and they’ve followed that up three years later with The Maiden. This full-length brings a tweaked lineup with it alongside continued experimentation yet compared to what has come before it’s also a bit more accessible.
Where some of the previous material jumped from element to element unexpectedly, The Maiden feels more like an album split into two distinct halves. The first half is noticeably denser and a bit closer to the proggy post hardcore and rock that the members of The Sound of Animals Fighting is known for, while the second half is more focused on electronics and softer melodies. The title track kicks things off with instrumentation that builds slowly, letting layers of melody hover over the recording before exploding into a flurry of noisier leads. There are still experimental flourishes on many of the tracks, like the switch from more direct post hardcore/punk riffing on “Bangladesh” to a spacey keyboard section, but early on it seems like The Maiden might be the most song focused and accessible material the band has put out to date. That also doesn’t mean its uninteresting, as other early cuts like “Lady of the Cosmos” have mathy guitar as well as a NWOBHM sounding gallop that stand out on repeat listens. But as you switch to the second half, it becomes clear the group hasn’t lost some of that Lover, the Lord Has Left Us… randomness. “Chrysanthemum” has beats and melodies that feel more pop and R&B, while “Pretty Like Cake” amps up the synths for a very moody 80s sounding synthpop track. Then you have “The Horror”, which is the closest The Sound of Animals Fighting have come to a hip hop track. Not all these moments hit the mark, as some of them feel like short diversions that don’t fully have the time to reach their full potential, but I like that there’s the same sense of spontaneity as on earlier works. “The Fall of Western Civilization” is an incredible closer though, sounding like the softer parts from The Mars Volta’s De-Loused in the Comatorium combined with smoky jazz lounge music.
The Sound of Animals Fighting has had a diverse roster of singers over their career, with Anthony Green, Rich Balling, Matt Embree, Mathew Kelly, and Keith Goodwin making up the current incarnation of the band. For those who are new to the group, what this means is that one song can be drastically different from the next when it comes to what the vocals sound like. Anthony Green’s contributions are instantly recognizable, as his soaring singing and abrasive screams have a very distinctive sound, and early on there’s quite a bit of the harsher end which fans of Green’s older work will appreciate. “Evil Sprites” is a great example of the type of vocal whiplash The Maiden offers, as it moves between spoken word and gruffer punk sounding singing, while later songs might have everything from rapping to more R&B style pitches. From what I’ve seen online, not all these approaches have clicked with listeners, and while the rapping and odd Nancy Drew references on “The Horror” stood out in a jarring way for me nothing seemed outright bad. It does hurt the cohesiveness of the material though, as even some of the out-there experimentation on past efforts had a better flow to it.
For a band I never expected to hear anything new from, The Sound of Animals Fighting’s fourth album comes as a pleasant surprise. It feels like a nice bridge between Tiger and the Duke and The Ocean and the Sun, emphasizing a lot of variety to the songwriting without going fully abstract like Lover, the Lord Has Left Us... Some of the shorter tracks come and go without fully reaching their peaks and not all the vocal experiments work in terms of a cohesive listen, yet when everything comes together it makes you want to experience The Maiden over and over again. Given the number of members involved its never guaranteed if this new incarnation will stick around or go their separate ways, but for now it’s exciting to have them return and continue to experiment. The Maiden is available from Born Losers Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg