By Max Mindock 

mindockm@grinnell.edu

Although there are no oceans in Grinnell, this Saturday, Grinnellians will have a chance to catch a wave. Slow Animal, a New Jersey based duo will surely bring crowd surfing with their west-coast feel to Gardner Friday night.

After countless attempts at forming bands, Alex Karaba and Dan Dellandunl came to the conclusion that they are at their best when playing together. They complement each other in a way that listeners feel any addition to the band would be unneeded, and even detrimental to the quality and type of music produced.

Slow Animal has been compared to bands such as Wavves and Bummer Sanders. Their mix of punk, pop, garage, lo-fi and fuzz combine into a mixture of sounds that will please the ear of anyone looking to go wild. With their upbeat tempos and fuzzy lyrics, a dance party is sure to follow them wherever they go.

Their frantic instrumentation sounds like its riding on the waves of youth. Feelings of rebellion and defiance take control as the listener losses themselves in the music. Their garage-band style paints a picture of a late summer night party on the beach with a group of rebellious teenagers dancing around a roaring fire. Head banging and a mosh pit will be a guarantee.

Cymbals crash at an ever-increasing rate as the mindset of everyone is slowly turned into a mentality of letting go. It is easy to imagine the performers lose control of reality and get sucked into the infectious melodies of their music themselves. Their interactions with the crowd enriches the experience to one where you are not only a listener, you are a part of the music. Classes, teachers, and the week will leave your mind as you become not only one with the music, but one with the experience.

Once the listener is hooked into the music, Slow Animal even further hypnotizes them with a unique mix of what can only be described as vocal humming.  Between choruses, they resemble bands like the Beach Boys and The Beatles and use a mixture of noises and rhythms to create a bridge connecting the different parts of the song. Your head starts swaying back and forth as you peacefully await the next chorus to take you away once again.

As they continue to play, this band will only continue to gain popularity.