Now I don’t for a second believe that my mind is in any way capable of interoperating half of the shit that goes on in Noah Lennox’s, but I’m going to try my best to do his artistic genius justice. Lennox aka Panda Bear has already released three acclaimed solo albums and as a founding member of Animal Collective, has had his fair share of praise there too. But solo album four, 'Tomboy', is up for a much harder time of it. Being released into a musical landscape post 'Merriweather Post Pavilion', there is widespread expectation where there was none for the post 'Strawberry Jam', 'Person Pitch'. The masses now know Panda Bear and the masses are waiting for something spectacular.
Well as you would expect, 'Tomboy' completely engulfs you. From the guitar laden lead single to the simplicity of 'Last Night at the Jetty’s' hook, this album is a pleasure while also being a striking surprise. The heavy use of samples is gone - perhaps a conscious decision after MPP – in favour of percussion heavy tracks driven by the rhythm of guitar, producing a sound more inclined towards Animal Collective’s Sung Tong’s.
Just as with AC’s ODDSAC and band mate, Avey Tare’s debut album 'Down There', 'Tomboy' has a sound of fluidity to it. The album sounds as if it is being heard through a wall of water which produces a dreamlike state for the music to exist in.
As a song crafter Lennox’s ideas have always been out there, but there is something about it all that clicks. You can adore his music for its class, its shyness and for its simple complexities - see closer 'Benfica', which is crammed full of subtle shifts and the kind of harmonies the Beach Boys would have produced if they’d ever gone psychedelic - and not because it’s, ‘cool to like Panda Bear’.
Something that is rarely spoken about when it comes to Lennox is his voice. He can really, really sing. The way he holds his notes on 'Afterburner' is pretty spectacular, even more so when you consider the turmoil of percussion it has to fight its way through. 'Surfer’s Hymn' is a standout from 'Tomboy'. Its intro of crashing waves and urgent chimes are sliced by prevailing vocals before a beat is thrown in to create something endlessly hypnotic.
'Alsatian Darn' feels a lot more like an Animal Collective track than anything else here. It sounds bigger, feels more involved and really benefits from that. In my mind, of minimal knowledge, it will go down as a classic Panda Bear track with the likes of 'Fireworks' and 'Good Girl/Carrots'.
And speaking of 'Good Girl/Carrots', that’s the one thing 'Tomboy' is missing, a ten minute plus track which you have to put in the time to appreciate, a track which, once you ‘get’, you can fully lose yourself in. Although saying that, the album as a whole gives you that reward after extended plays. It has a real sense of continuity which is lost on a lot of albums in modern music. As a person with very limited musical skill, I’m in total awe of this album, I’m in total awe of how one person alone can make music this good. I’m so in awe of it I’m about to make a bold claim in my final sentence.
With 'Tomboy', Panda Bear has bettered 'Person Pitch' in any way you could care to imagine.
'Tomboy' betters 'Person Pitch' all ends up!
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Just as with AC’s ODDSAC and band mate, Avey Tare’s debut album 'Down There', 'Tomboy' has a sound of fluidity to it. The album sounds as if it is being heard through a wall of water which produces a dreamlike state for the music to exist in.
