honestly, i don't see a reason for a live album from them yet. i'm thinking it might be older material, but hoping it's new material.

Yet? Don't they have a bunch of studio albums out and aren't they allegedly a good live band? Seems like the perfect time to strike while the iron's hot and all that.

Yet? Don't they have a bunch of studio albums out and aren't they allegedly a good live band? Seems like the perfect time to strike while the iron's hot and all that.

Guys, guys, obviously it's a Christmas album.

Who do you think could do a better "Jingle Bell Rock"?

"Little Drummer Boy" is actually a pretty good song.

One of their earliest releases is a live album actually. I would not be particularly interested in a live album from them at this point, though, because it'd be sort of like a live Flaming Lips album. I think Animal Collective have developed a similar sort of spectacle to make their live show fun and engaging, but, as I've said here many times, the two times I saw them live I was not impressed with how they performed their actual music, save for a few brief moments here and there.

I'm hoping this is some unreleased stuff.

I love seeing them live, but I do think there are some serious limitations to what they can do with whatever they're playing. I do think if they played their cards carefully they could cross-over to becoming a touring juggernaut without the jamband stigma.

Pitchfork: You said this EP's got more of an autumn feel to it. How would you say it's different from the Merriweather stuff?

DP: The vibe is a little bit darker, I'd say-- not in terms of the sound, maybe. Well, the melodies are definitely darker. It's not abrasive dark or anything, but I think the mood of it has just a little bit more of a nighttime, kind of dark, sad vibe, even though I think "What Would I Want? Sky" is a little bit more positive or upbeat. That's the only one. And then "I Think I Can" is very rhythmic, too. A lot of it's not so rhythmic, or at least not as much as Merriweather is. It's a little bit more washy and kind of orchestral.


Pitchfork: In the past year or so, you've playing on bigger stages than you've ever been on before. How's it been?

DP: In terms of the festivals and I guess the larger club shows, it can feel really great and amazing, and it can feel not so good. With a lot of the festivals, it's taken a while to get used to the fast-pace operation. You come in, and you don't really get a soundcheck. You just set up, and we have a pretty big setup in terms of the visual stuff that we like to do. It often feels, when we do festivals, like we're not really in our element, especially if we have to play in the middle of the day. Bonnaroo didn't really feel good for us at all. It was scorching hot, and we were really tired, and it was the end of our tour. But then there were some others-- it's really hard to say what makes it good and what makes it not good. It has to do with the connection of the crowd. It's amazing when you're playing for 20,000 people or whatever and it just feels like you're there, and it doesn't feel more than like 500. You get the same kind of personal feeling, you know?