Panda Bear - Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper (Album Review)
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Written by Matt Williams
It’s a good idea to arrive at the door of a new Panda Bear record expecting the unexpected. Noah Lennox has been twisting and turning under the name since the late ‘90s, while populating the fringes of the mainstream with Animal Collective weirdness, and ‘...Meets The Grim Reaper’ is further evidence of a restlessly creative mind.
As ever, his explorations are rooted in a desire to engage. He might present his ideas in a roundabout way, but the best moments on album five are once again derived from an urge to mould classic pop to his needs. The acid flashback Beach Boys harmonies have been held over, intermingled with nods to New York hip hop, circular motifs and snatches of synth-pop, and appear to laugh in the face of the record’s ominous title.
The grim reaper is more than just an image here, though. Lennox has discussed drawing a line under the Panda Bear moniker of late but, whether that ends up happening or not, he’s also come to see the record’s top half as symbolic of shedding “character traits that are unnecessary or detrimental”, according to a recent chat with Rolling Stone.
A father and now living in Lisbon, he’s a different man to the one who confronted the death of his own father a decade ago on ‘Young Prayer’, but this is a record that interprets the passing of time in typical Lennox fashion.
The beats of the progression are often difficult to chart beneath the multitude of ideas. ‘...Meets The Grim Reaper’ throws pointed melodies and half-formed thoughts out with something approaching abandon, lurching from the hard-nosed Mr Noah through the gorgeous Crossroads and syncopated vocal yelps of Boys Latin towards the lush, refried Disney of Tropic Of Cancer.
When stood next to ‘Tomboy’, it makes its predecessor seem almost desolate by comparison. Lennox’s latest - potentially final - dip into the world of Panda Bear is one characterised by welcome surprises and vivid colours.
Panda Bear Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed March 04 2015 - LONDON Electric Brixton
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