Panda Bear "Tomboy" review

 Plenty of albums rely on sound over lyricism to generate an emotional response. A perfect example of albums succeeding with this are albums such as Flying Lotus's Cosmogramma or Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion. Both relied on trippy sounds and slow moving melodies to create a dreamy and psychedelic atmosphere. So it's fitting that Panda Bear, also known as Noah Lennox, shares a lot of these traits in his albums because of his involvement in Animal Collective. Branching out and doing solo work is a tough act for many musicians. For Panda Bear, the fact that Animal Collective's shadow hovers above his work has never stopped him from delivering quality music. 2007's Person Pitch was indeed proof that Noah Lennox didn't need to have an entire band behind him to deliver an emotional powerhouse of an album. The question was raised however; would his next album live up to the immensely high standards it's predecessor set?

In some respects, Panda Bear's Tomboy does live up to the bar that Person Pitch set so high. With a gap of four years between the albums afterall, it should be at least a decent outing of an album. And it is. One thing that has not changed in the four year gap is that Noah Lennox really knows how to create a mix of dreamy and trippy along with darker tones. In fact, the sound of Tomboy is darker than any of Noah Lennox's works (including that with Animal Collective). It's a mix of last year's Down There by fellow Animal Collective member Avey Tare, and Person Pitch. Avey Tare's album was a dreary exercise of psychedelia with songs that had repetitive melodies and trippy sounds throughout. Tomboy follows this template with songs such as "You Can Count On Me" and "Slow Motion." These songs have a relatively repetitive melody throughout but have layer upon layers of sounds that create immersion within the songs. You really do get lost in the synthesisers, rhythms, samples, and audio tricks that Panda Bear adds to each song. "Surfer's Hymn" and "Afterburner" are highlights as well with Noah's vocals creating a soaring atmosphere that you really lose yourself in. "Sheherezade" is easily the album highlight with a slow and dark pace that really stands out among the trippy craziness on the rest of the record. It's the best song on the album.

But for every song that gets the formula right, other songs become an exercise in repetitious tedium. Despite some impressive vocals, "Drone" gets downright annoying and goes nowhere throughout it's four minute length. "Last Night At The Jetty" also suffers from this as the repetition gets exhausting with sounds that don't even sound...good. And that is the main problem with the album. Sometimes, the repetition in the songs grates on the nerves because some of the samples or synths being repeated become a tedious chore to listen to. "Tomboy" is a mixed bag mainly because while the guitar and samples in the song are very catchy, there's a synth added throughout that takes the focus away from the trippy and catchy rhythms.

And in the end, that's how I feel about Tomboy to an extent. It's certainly a great record and indeed, with a few more listens, it will become a fantastic record. The repetition and overabundance of layers in the songs really affect the album as a whole though. A lot of songs get it right and it's those songs that make me want to score this album higher because when Tomboy is at it's A game, it's a magnificent and beautiful record to lose yourself in. It's just that when the sounds become a tedious chore to listen to, it drags the album down and makes the whole experience an erratic mix of ups and downs. But goodness gracious, the ups are truly a wonder to listen to.

7.5/10