Today, I took a break from Samuel Beckett and listened to Panda Bear’s Person Pitch again. When I heard it last winter, the music felt totally original, and it still has that special quality this year. When I play it, it reminds me of sun coming through a frosted window.
Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) samples everything on this record – old guitars, animal sounds, drum beats, door slams, choirs, rushing wheels – and mixes them together into coherent, repeating paterrns that grow into songs. Above it all is Noah’s voice, strongly reminiscent of Brian Wilson, singing long, lovely melodies that give a center to the sound. The harmonies are bright, the polyrhythms clatter forward, and when a song peaks, it often metamorphoses into an entirely new section. I could listen to “Bros” over and over and still be surprised by all the beautiful noise.
Even though it’s freezing cold outside and inside, I feel like I’m bathed in warm, reflected summer light. Thanks, Panda Bear.
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