Panda Bear - Tomboy

Please bear with me for a moment whilst I put on my nearest home-sewn sweater, black-rimmed glasses and pour myself a cup of soya, fat-free, wheat-free, mainstream-free hipster juice.

Aaah. Refreshing, and not well-known. One half of the Pitchfork gods Animal Collective, Noah Lennox has been going under the Panda Bear pseudonym for four of his own albums now - the majority of which (ignoring the 1998 self-titled debut which really didn't get any attention at all, it seems) have found their way onto Pitchfork's end-of-year and even end-of-decade lists. Now for 'Tomboy', which introduces itself with 'You Can Count On Me', a haunting mish-mash of distorted vocals and Depeche Mode derivatives that is quite pleasant and works well to instil a sense of foreboding. The title track was released in the latter half of 2010 and has already garnered a little buzz, earning a play in CSI. It's a pretty conventional track by Animal Collective's standards - sounding like something Pink Floyd would have done in the late 70s if they were fronted by Holly Johnson.


'Slow Motion' opens with bubbly effects and blasts over an almost hip-hop beat - kind of giving us an insight into what Kanye West would do if he wanted to record a surfer anthem. Indeed the track is followed with 'Surfer's Hymn', complete with waves and shoegazing, all twinkling with a windchime-like tune. There's a strong Sleigh Bells "Rill Rill" vibe to 'Last Night At the Jetty', a bouncy, summery burst that sounds like the Beach Boys covered by MGMT, but it just doesn't click with me. 'Drone' basically sounds like anybody who's discovered an echo effect on a keyboard, holding notes out for uncomfortably drawn out lengths and never really going anywhere.

'Alsatian Darn' was originally released as a B-side to Tomboy, and is a step back in the right direction. A clapping drumbeat persists to give this a more rhythmic polish, the line "say what it is I want to say to you" repeated for a slightly desperate vibe. Named after the Persian goddess, 'Scheherazade' is easily one of the highlights, sounding like the opening to an 80s horror movie with its piano minimalism and whispered echoing vocals, occasionally dispersed with more of those windchimes. 'Friendship Bracelet' then arrives with what I'd imagine Animal Collective covering Oasis to sound like: ghosts of conventional chords and tunes blurred a little and drawn out some more.


'Afterburner' is a bit of a surprise, sounding like the Scissor Sisters' 2010 album put through a kaleidoscope. Et le record closes with 'Benefica', an able wind-down with some nice sounds but nothing particularly outstanding.

I just don't know what it is that motivates the hipsters. Because whilst this is by no means bad, you'd think they (Animal Collective) were the next Beatles. Sure, experimentation is to be commended in its bravery but it always suffers from the drawback of having inconsistencies - some of it'll go down a treat; some of it just noise. This record is a nice testament to the Californian surfer tints but suffers from a couple of naff tracks. Now watch as I'm crucified by those who only listen to what they think they want to hear.

Rating: 7/10
Highlights: Scheherazade, Surfer's Hymn, Alsatian Darn, Tomboy
Avoid: Drone, Last Night at the Jetty