The amount of critical praise Animal Collective received for 2004's SUNG TONGS promised this 2005 release a good deal of attention. That attention was well deserved. Though only a four-song EP, PROSPECT HUMMER finds the experimental-acoustic outfit continuing to explore and refine their primal psychedelia via acoustic guitars, layered vocals, and a swirling wash of auxiliary instruments in a way that challenges, mesmerizes, and enchants. Yet the distinguishing feature of the EP is the presence of British folk chanteuse Vashti Bunyan.

Bunyan has become something of an underground cult figure since the release of her only full-length album, 1970's JUST ANOTHER DIAMOND DAY. Fans of that album (long out of print until it was issued on CD in 2000) will find that Bunyan's delicate, evocative voice sounds much the same here. In fact, three of PROSPECT HUMMER's tunes highlight Bunyan's wispy singing by framing it with back-ups from the Collective (on the lilting verses of "I Remember Learning How to Dive," for example). The fourth track, "Baleen Sample," is a drone-like instrumental that evinces the beach on a windy day. With this short, delicious recording, Animal Collective has again staked their claim as one of the most unique acts in modern folk.

Spin (p.108) - "This EP dresses Bunyan's spider-web-soft utterances with Animal Collective's rhythmic harmonies and untethered acoustic strums." -- Grade: B+

The Wire (p.51) - "PROSPECT HUMMER is as beautiful yet insubstantial as origami....The songs fall together and apart as you listen, their transience making them all the more poignant."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.105) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[A]n EP-long excursion into summer-kissed bliss."