Album Review

Panda Bear – Tomboy

• 20th Jul 2010

Panda Bear’s been a busy bear ever since his indie hipster loved ‘Person Pitch’ that was released just three years ago. It showed a new air of music that one man could produce just from his bedroom. Some might say that it’s a hell of a long time to release another record but who could blame him for that? He’s been involved in a different picnic basket over those three years, namely Animal Collective who as you probably know have been praised for their innovative and harmonious experimental music. So where does that leave Panda Bear now?
The simple yet chilling drum beats of ‘Tomboy’ accompany the harmonised vocals and visceral arpeggiated keyboards. There’s a nice depth to it all and all the layers seem to propel themselves gently towards you. Tomboy doesn’t breach any gap stylistically because it sits just right in the centre of what some would consider ambient electronica and others underground pop music. B Side track ‘Slow Motion’ does in a similar vein what ‘Tomboy’ does. The trademark Noah Lennox harmonious vocal work sounds almost inhuman, almost ghost like if you may. All the parts of the music move seamlessly together in unison.
‘Tomboy’ is a very minimalist release in both songs. They don’t have that regular structure we all expect from music but that’s where the beauty of it all lies. Panda Bear takes such simple instrumentation and moulds them all together to create much more deeper sounds. Sure, it hasn’t got the melodic balance that ‘Person Pitch’ had but this is a totally different piece of cake and one that’s worth