Daily Archives: July 22, 2010

It seems that every time I listen to Panda Bear’s 2007 album “Person Pitch”, I get stuck in to this world of mesmerization. I like every member of Animal Collective a ton, but with the release of the “Tomboy” single, (first in a series of three singles that will be released prior to the full album release in September), I seem to have gained a larger admiration for the stylings of Noah Lennox, the man behind Panda Bear.

Both “Tomboy” and “Slow Motion” seem marginally different from Panda’s past work, but you can see great comparisons between both of Animal Collective’s most recent albums, “Strawberry Jam” and “Merriweather Post Pavilion”. There is a lot less sampling used in both of these songs, the most possible culprit to the departure from “Person Pitch”.

One can pull many more similarities between “Tomboy” and the previous works of Panda Bear, but something about the new track feels like it tries to break free with frequently echoing guitar. Lennox could easily have went with the same basic premise of “Person Pitch” but this escape adds a sense of mystery to the rhythm of the song. “Tomboy” is great.

“Slow Motion”, where do I begin? I absolutely love this track. It starts off with a swift and memorable hip-hop beat and progresses with a catchy, dark piano riff, ending with soaring vocals that you’ve come to know from himself and Animal Collective. Everything seems to mesh extremely  well together and it makes me wonder if more artists will begin adding seemingly out of place hip-hop percussions to their music.

WINNER: “Tomboy/Slow Motion” by Panda Bear

WHY: Panda Bear has added a great deal of newfound depth to his style and the tracks prove it. Best song: “Slow Motion”

Best Coast is one of the most popular buzzbands of 2010 and their debut album is nearing its release. Most of the EP’s they have put out have been generally well received and excitement was built for somewhat good reason.

Until I realized every song on “Crazy For You” is essentially the same, each based around boys, cats, weed, and being a bitch. Sure, there are some standouts, like “Boyfriend”, “Our Deal”, and “When I’m With You”, but in the end it feels like all these songs were thrown together in a matter of days, reminding me of a more half-assed experimental version of Dr. Pepper’s “Band In a Bubble”, where bands of mild popularity and mediocrity are thrust into a bubble-like household for thirty days and are expected to leave with a finished album.

Not only do the majority of the lyrics on “Crazy For You” seem insanely similar crossing each song, the music written for each of them is reminiscent of the one before it. Best Coast lead, Bethany Cosentino talks about how she writes most of her songs with simple, catchy lyrics because that’s just her style. Normally, I can agree with that, except none of the songs have anything special to offer besides their simplicity, and in the end the album comes of as short and monotonous. Which it is.

Literally, from song to song, the basis is exactly the same, just with slightly differentiated lyrics. I am not sure if this was Cosentino’s intention, but if it is, boy, what a bitch. It makes no sense, how you can rhyme “crazy” with “lazy” probably three times on the entire 31:33 runtime, and be called a respected artist. I don’t know how I can ask her to improve on anything because I don’t even know anymore what she is capable of. So, in a nutshell, just listen to “Boyfriend”.

The problem with this album is that it has a terrible struggle with finding variety and is simplified for a four year-old.

WINNER: ANDREW

WHY: Because everything about Best Coast’s album is indulgent and can’t be counted as anything but a summer album for one listen. Make-out music my ass, Bethany. These are young children you are talking to about weed and boys.