Raccoo-oo-oon fits in nicely with the Bügsküll, Jennifer Gentle, and Animal Collective branch of noise rock, but while those groups take the music into more pop directions - Bügsküll sounding more indie rock, Jennifer Gentle sounding more Barrett or Zappa, and Animal Collective sounding more Beach Boys or Olivia Tremor Control - Raccoo-oo-oon keeps the music close to the soil.
Hailing from Iowa - a little further south in the prairie from Davenport - Raccoo-oo-oon creates a similar sort of nature-based communal jam. However, while Davenport organically search for the zen-like groove hidden in the din, Raccoo-oo-oon follow a bit more closely to the rules of rock and roll. Riffs are the foundation for them to build ecstatic clutter on top, not the other way around.
The riff on "Forever" is tremendous. It's a great, sludgy psychedelic sound, the riff just chopping away, again and again for 9 minutes. Raccoo-oo-oon don't have to play heavy to sound good, though, as the soft sounding "On the Roof" is a great ode to morning, as gentle notes drip off the electric guitar, like the sunrise hitting the grass.
While guitar is the focus of a lot of songs, saxophone is also used heavily, and it gets its own song in "Under the Deck." The mix of hard rock drumming and the slow, harsh sax tones build the tension until it lashes out, chugging forward with hard, trilling notes.
While the songs are very rock, the influence of primitivism is still profound. The vocals on the opening track, "Cave of Spirits," are a jackal-like howl, with fast, aggressive drums spinning the cries into a dizzying whirlwind. Loud, thick guitar provides the pounding beat for Native American chants on "Stick Eaters" before the song devolves (or rather evolves!) into the most delicate electric guitar part.
This melange of hard guitar, crazy sax, and primal grunting makes the band seem much more punk rock than those directly before them. But unlike Magik Markers, they can actually thrash.
