Miike Snow is an indie pop trio formed in Stockholm in 2007, consisting of Swedish production and songwriting duo Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. A silhouette of a jackalope is often used as the band's logo.
They have released three studio albums: Miike Snow (2009), Happy to You (2012), and iii (2016).
members: Andrew Wyatt, Christian Karlsson
formed in: Stockholm
labels: Downtown Records, Columbia Records
genres: indie rock, synth-pop
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
Miike Snow was formed in Stockholm in 2007. Swedish band members Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg were childhood friends who spent time playing in bands and working on various projects in studios around Gothenburg. Karlsson was a former member of the Swedish hip hop band Goldmine, who toured with The Fugees. After they both moved to Stockholm separately, they reunited in 2000 and formed the production and songwriting duo Bloodshy & Avant.
"Animal" is a song performed by Swedish indie pop band Miike Snow. It was released as the first single from the band's 2009 self-titled debut album on 17 February 2009 through Columbia and Downtown Records.
Written by the band alongside Henrik Jonback, "Animal" is a pop song with instrumentation provided by horns and staccato synthesizers. Lead singer Andrew Wyatt has explained that it has an ambiguous meaning; its lyrics can be interpreted as dealing with matters such as addiction, basic instincts or dissatisfaction when one's needs are not met by society.
"Animal" was written by Miike Snow's three members, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt, in collaboration with Henrik Jonback. In an interview with Dustin Fitzharris of Out, Wyatt explained that the song has an ambiguous meaning, "It can deal with addiction. It can deal with just the basic instincts – some of them are wonderful and some of them are very dangerous." In a separate interview with Joe Zadeh for Clash, Wyatt deemed it a "very simple song" and elaborated on its subject matter, "Directing your attention to man's underlying nature and how sometimes things in society just don't work out to meet your needs. And a lot of people end up feeling very dissatisfied. And the way people feel the need to fit into certain...
"Animal" is a pop song with horn and staccato synthesizer instrumentation. According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing, the song is written in the time signature of common time with a moderate beat rate of 118 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E major and Wyatt's vocal range spans the notes of B3 to C♯6. It has an E–F♯m7–C♯m chord progression and a verse-chorus structure. Sam Richards of NME and Ben Hogwood of musicOMH compared the sound and rhythm of the song to works by English band The Police, while Paul Lester of The Guardian likened lead singer Wyatt's vocals to those of The Police's lead singer Sting. Jason Lymangrover of AllMusic compared the hook to works by American band Vampire Weekend,...
"Animal" received a positive response from music critics. Natalie Kaye of Contactmusic.com described it as a "solid pop song", before adding that the "infectious" chorus is "irrefutably something you'll end up whistling in the shower". Similarly, Ian Wade of BBC Music commented that it "takes approximately one play for its catchiness to cluster bomb your memory bank", and John Bergstrom of PopMatters called it "sharp, catchy pure pop" with a chorus that "charm[s] [its] way into your brain". Rudy Klapper of Sputnikmusic commended lead singer Wyatt's "chameleonic" vocals, calling them "a highlight from the beginning". Klapper concluded, "['Animal'] bounc[es] along a deceptively catchy progression to a jangly chorus that hits immediate pop...
Two music videos were released to promote "Animal". The first video, directed by Sebastian Mlynarski, was released in July 2009. It opens with the band performing on a street at night, holding umbrellas. The band then appears wearing different surgical masks with animal prints throughout the video. Near the end, they are seen performing in a grass field. Anthony Dickenson directed the single's second music video, released in August 2009. Dickenson created projections and sculptures, utilizing both animation and performance footage. The video features projections of a forest which turns into a city as the video progresses. It interspersed with shots of the band performing in a dark room. The video ends with the band's jackalope logo being...