Sunday, 18 Feb 2007
A month ago, (nearly) everybody bought The Shins latest release and said, “Yeah, The Shins album is good, but, it sounds just like The Shins, they didn’t push the envelope at all, they didn’t take any risks.”
All those people – go buy Panda Bear’s Person Pitch. (Out on Paw Tracks March 20) Panda Bear is Noah Lennox (of Animal Collective).
If The Shins were playing a show drunk, on ‘shrooms, leaning over the edge of the Empire State Building, and standing on one leg, it would be half as risky as Person Pitch. It appeases those of us that ached for more edge. Person Pitch is decidedly anti-commercial, avoiding traditional track structure. It’s twisted, distorted, full of reverb, people moaning, fireworks and unabashedly catchy tunes I keep humming to myself hours later. Strangely, terribly terribly catchy.
Some of the tracks are so long they’re unwieldy, the song titles are purposefully cryptic, and the album lacks a cohesive feel. But I keep finding myself wanting to listen to it again.
(every Animal Collective fan, every where, just completely freaked out that I talked about both Panda Bear and The Shins in the same review, but take a deep breath and look again. It’s ok, we’re all going to be alright.)
(travis)
Myspace: Panda Bear
MP3: Panda Bear - Young Prayer
February 19th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Best album I’ve heard so far in 2007.
February 19th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Sounds like the Beach Boys with nitrous to me. I can’t stop listening either. I dig how the songs can totally change in the middle of the track.
February 20th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
good time. good time. good time. good time. good time. good time.
i was in the middle of having a near stroke from the glory that is the new frog eyes album, never possibly during that time imagine that there could be anything better out there.
and then i listened to this, almost reluctantly, i wasn’t a fan of young prayer (but now i understand why he did all the weirdness)
what the hell? i’m listening to this and i’m completely blown away, from the edge of a pier and into the shallow water, i’m tripping on something (MSG maybe? from all the fried shrimp?) and all i can hear is what i can only possibly describe as going to heaven.
I swear the moment I die, it better be in the vicinity of these songs, I couldn’t ask for a better farewell.
Great Great Album.
February 20th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I find it interesting how his last album was so minimal and obtuse, and then he goes and makes a really accessible and sweeping album, one that even rivals any of his own work with Animal Collective. Really amazing stuff.
March 1st, 2007 at 12:30 am
i’m so in love…..
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Honestly I never really liked Animal Collective stuff. Every time I would listen, i would just hear a barrage of sounds and i would impatiently go skip to the next song. With the same outcome. So when i read all the great reviews of this new Panda Bear album, i thought i would give it a try too (what the hell–i can download it for free…). I was/am sooo pleasantly surprised. I never felt like skipping through any tracks. I recognized all the reviews saying things like it sounded like the beach boys singing campfire songs. I was in bliss: utterly relaxed, yet unable to stop swaying and tapping my feet. Wonderful album. Now i’ve gone back to some AC stuff and realize its good stuff too (when you don’t skip through each song after only 15 seconds). Good times.