Kelly Kirwan
Maybe chaos isn't a ladder—maybe it's the adrenaline-fueled melody mismatch that Animal Lover seems to relish. The midwestern trio formed from the fragments of past, punk-infused projects like Høst and Gumbi, and found in each other an affinity for shattering the mold. Their sound skitters between post-hardcore, avant-punk, and elements of abrasive jazz to create a riotous indie rock, as if the three bandmates put these respective genres in a blender, flipped the switch, and watched the pulverized pieces splatter across the wall. It's a needle-to-the-heart, I-said-God-damn kind of fervor, which is particularly gripping on Animal Lover's single, "DREAMHOUSE," off their upcoming Stay Alive LP.
The swirl of dissonance, high-flying guitar riffs, and sweat-inducing beat enters instantaneously, as vocals akin to a rally cry barely break through the sonic bedlam. The single's paired video begins with a black backdrop, a blank canvas for the animation to come. Lines that mimic audio waves oscillate across the screen, their colors pixelated as if they'd been spray-painted and then transposed to become a throwback special effect. Tiny outlines of men frequent the hoopla, all the art feeling plucked from MS Paint or hand drawn (in a retro-cool fashion).
The background shifts to waterscapes and the green, lens-filtered image of an island, as the motif of triangles permeate the montage. It's a semi-abstract collage which nearly reaches two minutes, a nod to Animal Lover's dip into art-punk and their love of layered genre. "DREAMHOUSE" is the kind of song that demands your attention, a rebel yell that barrels in and finishes with a flurry, fomenting a taste for anarchy in your chest.