Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper leaked (tracklist)

 

We're neither Animal Collective fans nor particularly fans of their primary long term contributors Panda Bear and Avey Tare.   As far as we're concerned Merriweather Post Pavillion is the name of a historic shed in Columbia, Maryland where bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish have played legendary concerts (as opposed to the name of Animal Collective's critically acclaimed 2009 album).

That said the album grows on you even if after repeated listens it comes off as heavily front loaded.  The first two cuts Sequential Circuits and Mr. Noah are the strongest followed by similarly upbeat Crosswords.  It seems likely that Mr. Noah will be the lead single.  In fact after quick research it turns out Panda Bear has already released a Mr. Noah EP (October 22nd, 2014) in advance of Grim Reaper's January 13, 2015 release date.   The middle of the album lowers the tempo and ebulience a bit with cuts like Boys Latin that showcase the tenor that Panda Bear (born Noah Benjamin Lennox) developed in his high school chamber choir albeit washed in heavy echo and delay.  Tropic of Cancer with its plucked harp and haunting melody is a nice respite from the pseudo dance floor vibes.  Closers Selfish Gene and Acid Wash bring the album to a nice close and denouement.  It is hard to tell if this is single album concept or an EP rammed together with another EP of songs- it has that duality to it.

Both Panda Bear and Animal Collective are well known for their heavy use of samples, loops and synthesizers.  Panda Bear is deeply influenced by electronic music increasingly evident in his past few outings.  He predominantly uses a Korg M3 workstation synthesizer and a variety of samplers (the Roland SP-555, Elektron Octatrack and Boss SP-303 'Dr. Sample') to create his music. On Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper he is joined again (as on 2011's Tomboy) by former Spaceman 3 member Peter 'Sonic Boom' Kember.