NEW! ALL THESE ANIMALS So Polite LP
All These Animals – So Polite is available on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Deezer.
by Walter Price
All the best bits-n-bobs from various music genres/eras have been collected into eight well-hued vignettes of eclectic bliss on Brooklyn native Mike Wilson’s Berlin-based alter-ego All These Animals’ ‘So Polite’ LP.
This project dropped this past December and was made possible with the help of many, but most notably to GTC readers is Murmur Tooth‘s mastermind, Leah Hinton. Hinton handled mixing as well as additional vocals on tracks “The Somewhere After” & “Lobr”. And like Murmur Tooth, All These Animals has created fantastic soundscapes that have their own atmospheres. Psychadelic and melodic, dreamy and airy, this album is cohesive but never singular. And without sounding to review cliché, you’ll find something new to grasp onto with each stream.
Then there’s the phenomenal music video for the track “The Field Where I Died”. Starring Kris Urbas as Pigeon and Wilson as Duck, and as weird as it may be to see two beaked friends in somber human form and settings, the symbolism is both metaphoric and beautiful. And of course, at times, you’ll want to smile out loud. Which I think is more than okay, even with a weighty song such as this. Also, Wilson would like to remind viewers of the film that neither Urbas nor himself are actually a pigeon or a duck, respectively.
All in all, ‘So Polite’ is an intimate LP that has all the vibes of an album that’ll be your secret. One you want to share with friends but perhaps they wouldn’t understand, so you’ll play it over and again excessively. Kinda like the times, you thought you were the only set of ears that knew about Eels or Neutral Milk Hotel.
You can stream ‘So Polite’ in full and see the “The Field Where I Died” music video, now at the GTC.
ALL THESE ANIMALS So Polite
+ The Field Where I Died, video
Artist photo by Matt Daniels
Written, recorded, & performed by Mike Wilson
Mixing, add’l production, vox on tracks 3&4: Leah Hinton
Mastering by Mike Grinser @ Manmade Mastering, Berlin
The Field Where I Died
Editor: Mike Wilson
Camera: Matt Daniels
Featuring: Kris Urbas (Pigeon), Mike Wilson (Duck)
Denoise Saviour: Eric Sanchez
“Thank you to Leah, without whom this album would have been impossible to complete. To Matt Daniels, for having an open ear and an open heart. To Eric Sanchez, for his patience and telephone skills. To Chris “BPP” Engelhardt, for lending me twenty bucks that time we met Meadow Soprano. To Emily, because she can’t differentiate between albums and singles. And to Kris, who can FINALLY have his bass back!” – ATA