Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Most reviews tell you that an album is OK, good, or great. We’re all pretty familiar with these qualifiers, but occasionally something comes along that just seems to transcend the usual qualifiers. These aberrations may borrow influences form all over the map but when viewed as a whole they are something beyond comparison. Panda Bear’s new record Person Pitch is better than any album I heard last year and might be the best record that comes out this year as well.

Panda Bear is essentially one man, Noah Lennox, who splits time between his group, Animal Collective and his solo work. His previous album, Young Prayer, was an introspective piece of music produced by a young man who had just lost his father. While it could have justly sounded sappy, it was instead a tasteful tribute. The new album, Person Pitch, is completely different and there is reason for this change. Since Young Prayer was released Lennox has himself gotten married and become a father. He also managed to continue making music with his band Animal Collective and moved to Portugal. This wide assortment of personal influences mixed with his incredibly wide ranging musical influences combine to make truly unique indie pop.

The album begins with “Comfy in Nautica,” an homage to Lennox’s newborn son. Much like the rest of the album, “Nautica” has a personal quality to the lyrics and you can imagine him singing his baby to sleep. (“Try to tell me how to do it/only because I’m new to here/coolness is having courage/courage to do what’s right/I’ll try to remember always/just to have a good time/good time good time good time…”)

In what becomes a theme of the album, the song “Take Pills” veers suddenly at the half way point. It moves from the soft looping drone to a be-bopping water-splashing romp when Lennox sings, “I don’t want for us to take pills anymore/I’m not that into that/I feel stronger and we don’t need ‘em.” The first time I listened to this I immediately said to myself, “Yeah, I feel that way too.” More than that I felt a sense of relief that he was able to express himself so honestly. This isn’t the only point on the album that has uplifting and honest lyrics.

The last song on the album, “Ponytail,” provides a perfect ending as he softly coos, “When my soul starts glowing/when my soul starts growing/I am as I want to be/and I know I never will stop growing.” As he sings, his voice takes on an almost childlike quality. It seems that he has been able to experience fatherhood, and also use his son to see the world anew.

Lennox’s label Paw Tracks posted on their Web site that they feel Person Pitch will eventually stack up with the great solo albums of Paul McCartney, George Michael, and Ghostface Killah. Many of the other reviewers say that this is the best album they’ve heard so far this year. I’ll say this, I hope something can top this record because it would be truly special, but seeing as it will have to be transcendent I am not personally capable of telling you who could accomplish this feat or what it will sound like. For now, let’s all just bask in the warm splendor that is Panda Bear’s magnificent Person Pitch.

To purchase a physical copy of this album, please visit Paw Tracks. For a downloadable copy, please click on the button below: