Top 10 Best Albums by Bands Named After Animals in the Last Decade

In recent years, the amount of bands that have adopted names of animals is quite staggering, which leaves one to wonder if people are just getting lazy or if our animal brothers have begun to inspire us even more. I’m more apt to think it’s the former, but either way here are the best albums from bands in the last ten years named after our furred, finned, and feathered friends. 10. Noah and the Whale “The First Days of Spring” So when you’re in a band with your girlfriend, and she decides to leave to become even more popular than your band, and she breaks your heart, what’s a guy to do? Write a breakup record and wow people with how deep your songwriting chops can go… obviously. 9. Cat Power “You Are Free” While most people didn’t really hear Cat Power until she released “The Greatest,” I prefer her darker days where she’d suddenly lose her mind on stage in the midst of playing these very personal songs. 8. Frightened Rabbit “Midnight Organ Fight” Another very intense, personal record that doesn’t really provide anything new to listeners in terms of innovation, but focuses on very solid songwriting and heart-on-sleeve lyrics. 7. Caribou “Andorra” Daniel Snaith, known as Caribou, won the Polaris Prize for this 2007 release that shows hints of early Pink Floyd among other influences. Overall, it’s a perfect record to listen to on a long train ride. 6. Tortoise “Standards” Their best in the last ten years, Tortoise has done a lot for instrumental music since the band’s inception in 1990. Standards is more of a rock album than the band’s others, but it’s got some great songs. 5. Panda Bear “Person Pitch” Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox gave everyone a glimpse of where his band would be heading when he released this album in 2007. It still sounds like the Beach Boys went into the studio and mainlined acid, but who wouldn’t love to hear those results? 4. Gorillaz “Demon Days” Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s virtual band really hit the mark with this album, a perfect mix of dark dub and rock-based hip-hop that had some great hits. While I usually skip “Feel Good, Inc.” because the radio ruined it for me, the album is a great one to listen to front to back. 3. Fleet Foxes “Ragged Wood” Robin Pecknold and his band seemingly came out of nowhere and won people over with their beautiful live shows and recordings that sounded like they were singing on a mountain, overlooking some pleasant valley with their righteous beards. 2. Grizzly Bear “Veckatimest” Grizzly Bear really hit a songwriting stride on their recent album. While at times these guys can sound also like the Beach Boys, though more on amphetamines than hallucinogenics, the talent of each member is astounding when witnessed live. 1. Modest Mouse “The Moon and Antarctica” There are few bands that have worked as hard as Modest Mouse to get their music out to the masses. While their recent work has seen much commercial success, and for good reason, this 2000 release really sees Isaac Brock at his best, mixing dark lyrical poetry with a sound that would foreshadow future releases and solidify the band as an inimitable force. Honorable Mentions: Bowerbirds “Hymns for a Dark Horse” Freelance Whales “Weathervanes” Mastodon “Blood Mountain” Pelican “City of Echoes” Them Crooked Vultures “Self Titled” Band of Horses “Everything All the Time”