Panda Bear - Tomboy

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4...according to our Business Lady on Thu 07 Apr, 2011.

Really liked the first single on this new Panda Bear LP. The now sold out 'Tomboy/Slow Motion' 7" that began this promotional campaign is easily the highlight of this new collection from Animal Collective main man and musical all-rounder Noah Lennox. That's no reflection on the quality of this highly anticipated follow up to 'Person Pitch', it's just a shame he gave us the best of it way before the arrival of the LP. Lennox choose to release the majority of these tracks as 7" singles that preceded the album (with 7"s on Kompakt, Fat Cat, Paw Tracks, and Domino) so much of the material is already sounding quite familiar. That said, Lennox has been courteous enough to re-address these tracks before committing them to 'Tomboy'. So, for those of you who bought the individual 7"s, you'll be pleased to hear that these tracks have been tampered with and reworked enough to make purchasing both items essential. That said these remixes aren't necessarily better in every case. Lead track 'Tomboy' for example doesn't benefit massively from the additional synths added and sounded fresh enough with just the primitive dub influenced drum beat and fantastic (and rarely used) rhythm guitar. A reliance less on samplers definitely shows though and the addition of guitars and loose rhythms gives 'Tomboy' a very organic feel. I still can't help but feel that Lennox may have spent a little too long on 'Tomboy', bogging some of the best moments down with unnecessary detail. Still, fantastic album. I'm just being fussy.

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*INCLUDES DOWNLOAD COUPON FOR A SPECIAL PANDA BEAR LIVE SET FROM 11TH SEPTEMBER 2010 AT
GOVERNORS ISLAND NYC.

*Recorded at his studio in Lisbon, Tomboy sees Panda Bear, aka Noah Lennox, stepping away from the sample-based
parameters of his previous record and incorporating more guitar and synthesiser. Still prevalent though, is the interest in
texture that made Person Pitch such a dense record; crashing waves and cheering crowds bounce against the gurgling
arpeggios and give the tracks an immense sense of space. Soaked in reverb and punctuated with inflections of delay,
the album’s drums reveal a dub influence which gives them a visceral punch that lingers after each hit. Lennox’s lofty,
self-harmonising vocals smooth out the songs, and Sonic Boom’s mixing gives the work a large dynamic range.

*Through it all, Lennox has remained resilient in following his singular vision and voice. “I’ve definitely traversed some
kind of mind field the last year or so and it hasn’t always been pleasant or easy,” Lennox says. “But it’s been more a
positive irritant than anything else.” Tomboy proves, above all else, that he’s risen to the challenge and surpassed (as
well as sidestepped) all expectations. And in following up Person Pitch, Panda Bear has again taken to releasing the
album as a batch of separate singles first, for labels like Kompakt, Fat Cat, Paw Tracks, and Domino. “Doing the singles
helps me focus on every song and also helps me move along in the process.”

*Also part of the process was moving past the gear that informed the dense sonic tapestries of Person Pitch and MPP: “I
got tired of the severe parameters of using samplers. Thinking about Nirvana and the White Stripes got me into the idea
of doing something with a heavy focus on guitar and rhythm.” Favouring a darker, more-streamlined sound on Tomboy,
Lennox went for a more visceral and direct approach, though that rock tendency was offset by another old influence on
Lennox: “With regards to where I am with Tomboy, I’m definitely reliving middle school and all the Baltimore R&B radio
we used to ingest.”

*It lends itself to the paradox of the title itself. Lennox explains: “A lot of the songs are about something that’s in conflict
with itself, so the image of a ‘tomboy’ has become the overseeing figure as far as the group of songs go.” It might even
exemplify the conflict of Panda Bear himself: underground and experimental in his approach to sound, he also strives to
craft gorgeous pop for the widest audience possible. With Tomboy, he’s attained his greatest balance between the two
extremes yet.

*Both as a member of Animal Collective and as solo artist, Panda Bear, Noah Lennox spent the aughts helping redefine
the aesthetics and methodology of experimental and independent music. With work ranging from splayed but lyrical
noise, florid acoustic arrangements, and guitar-centric psychedelia, he and his bandmates have covered a vast musical
territory that blurs the line between pop and experimentalism.

Tracklist

1. You Can Count On Me 2. Tomboy 3. Slow Motion 4. Surfer's Hymn 5. Last Night At The Jetty 6. Drone 7.Alsatian
Darn 8. Scheherazade 9.Friendship Bracelet 10. Afterburner 11. Benfica

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