On first listen, Prospect Hummer, the welcome four-song collaboration of obscure folk doyenne Vashti Bunyan with postmodern experimentalists Animal Collective, appears to be a formless wash of vocals and autoharp, a work that ebbs and flows with some power but ultimately signifies nothing. It gradually becomes clear, however, that something more is occurring here; the group is channeling the same sense of primal folk -- not traditional, yet very ancient -- that Bunyan and her friends did on the quiet 1970 masterpiece Just Another Diamond Day and Animal Collective did on a different scale with 2004's Sung Tongs. This is very much a modern recording, focusing on the spirit of the performance rather than song-based material (the only exception is the closer). While the material doesn't have the same infectious power as Bunyan's "Rose Hip November," it deliciously blends the similarities held by both Bunyan in the late '60s and Animal Collective nearly 40 years later. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
On a Europe tour in the middle of 2004, the group was introduced to the British folk singer Vashti Bunyan in Edinburgh, Scotland, by Kieran Hebden (Four Tet). Bunyan finally contributed vocals to all of the songs except for "Baleen Sample." Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Deakin are present throughout the entire EP; Geologist, who could not join the tour because of his dayjob, is featured only on the song "Baleen Sample". They had three days to record three songs. [1]
The first two songs are actually outtakes from the Sung Tongs recording sessions, re-recorded with Bunyan.
Bunyan says about the recordings:
“
My daughter says she can hear me smiling on the title track [...] and I was. I loved having the freedom to sing as I wanted. I was still finding my voice after burying it for years.[2]
”
The release in 2005 led to a Fat Cat Records signing for Vashti Bunyan, who finally wrote, recorded and released her second album Lookaftering, ending a thirty year hiatus.
