In 2000, Dave Portner and Noah Lennox recorded an album at home and self-released it in a tiny edition of CDs. But Animal Collective’s de facto debut is far more deliberate, ambitious, and sophisticated than you might remember.

In 2000, Dave Portner and Noah Lennox recorded an album at home and self-released it in a tiny edition of CDs. But Animal Collective’s de facto debut is far more deliberate, ambitious, and sophisticated than you might remember.