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”
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