noWax

Panda Bear is probably best known as the drummer from the band Animal Collective. He’s had a few solo albums but that’s definitely his day job. This could all be about to change. ‘Person Pitch’, his third album, sees the Bear put down the familiar and venture across new plains to discover a rich, warm and breezy sound – a bit like a cousin once removed from the A.C.’s sound. It never kicks off and goes-to-town the way that the Animals do, but remains nicely napping on the porch in the evening sun.

The best way I can think to describe this is, it’s like listening to the Beach Boys in a dream. Weird sound loops and distant echoes that don’t seem to make sense build up a floating backdrop to sustain layered choral harmonies. Much of the album seems to take on an ambient feel, with pop sticking its brightly coloured oar in from time to time, to keep the affair on an even keel.

‘Comfy In Nautica’ turns the key in and starts the album off to a slow meander. Mass echoes, looped up racing car sounds and rich harmonious vocals take you away from your reality and plop you down in the world of Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear. ‘Take Pills’ continues where the previous track left off also to impressive effect, somehow creating something pretty sweet out of something pretty simple. That is until halfway though, when it turns into a great little pop ditty that’ll almost make you skip down the street (if there weren’t other people there). ‘Bros’ injects in a little more Beach Boys, developing into a psychedelic overhaul of their late ‘60s sound. The rest of the album gets even more experimental and, for the most part, even better. Where vocals feature they are in the same harmonious vein as before but now the experimental nature of the backing loops and ambient sounds grow and start dominating the mix to create something that is almost trance inducing. With no clues as to where the music will go next, it becomes a very rewarding listen.

The whole album is very textured and multi-dimensional (if music can be), bringing you so much more than just an ambient album or just an indie album; you kinda get both and everything in-between. The concept of traditional song structure – verse chorus verse - doesn’t get a look in and it’s far richer for it. More bamboo for the hungry Panda please, he’s been making a great album.