A deep atmosphere of mystery pervades Animal Collective’s Campfire Songs, composed of seemingly ordinary elements. This deceptively casual recording project gives the feeling of a few friends strumming and murmuring in a rustic setting while the rain pours down and birds caw in the distance. Actually, the group (made up for this recording of Panda Bear, Avey Tare and Deakin) reveals a method to their meanderings amidst the acoustic guitar washes and communal vocal harmonies that weave in and out of these five tracks. Swooning fragments of melody contrast with harsh, repetitive riffs and strategic patches of silence. The effect is ambient but not lulling, akin to listening for the presence of small furtive creatures beneath the leaf litter of a forest. While the album is best appreciated as a whole, the pulsating “Doggy” and the eerie-to-serene “De Soto de Son” deserve special mention. Campfire Songs can be seen as a pioneering release in the freak-folk wave of the ‘00s. Though Animal Collective has gone on to more advanced endeavors, this album’s sonic tapestries remain a mesmerizing achievement.