Oh my God. Hi everyone. Deadthony Bugtano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new Panda Bear album, Sinister Grift.

Here we have the newest full-length LP from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, Mr. Noah Lennox, AKA Panda Bear. A guy who has built up a pretty impressive catalog of solo efforts and collaborations at this point. But still, it's hard to talk about Noah Lennox without also making mention of the tenure that he's had in one of the most popular and significant psychedelic outfits of the modern era, Animal Collective.

And while the band may not be as hotly discussed as they were, in the midst of the internet/indie blog era they were born out of, what group from that time is Regardless, though, Animal Collective and their numerous contributions to the surreal side of the underground scene are measurable and I think as relevant as ever, especially in a musical era where vibes and immersion reign supreme. This is the case not just for Animal Collective's core albums, but the mountain of solo work that we have gotten from the band's respective members over the years.

You could argue the most successful of all of these musical extracurriculars have been released by Noah himself. The popularity of critically acclaimed albums like Person Pitch and Tomboy have even transcended that of the band to an extent, which is interesting, considering that Noah Lennox's solo stuff tends to be a bit more indulgent, which has personally kept me from enjoying it quite as much as I have Animal Collective classics such as Sung Tongs, and Strawberry Jam, and Merriweather Post Pavilion.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by how lush, accessible, and still very much psychedelic this new crop of songs from Noah was here.

Now, I'll say on the surface, aesthetically, not too much has changed. The springy effects and layered vocals, the twangy guitars, are all very much recognizable in terms of the usual conic boxes that are checked on a Panda Bear album. But I'm still loving it so much more than I have any other record in this man's catalog. I think it mostly comes down to the songwriting and the overall focus on melody and structure and direction on these tracks, as well as the surprising diversity of genres that Noah approaches on the 10 songs of this LP, too. I think this record is the closest we are going to get to saying that Panda Bear has really gone pop, at least in a solo capacity, because I do think we are getting his catchiest solo tracks to date here that are packed with a lot of nostalgic callbacks, too.

Take the opening track, "Praise", for example, which kicks off with these thumping drums, down-stroked guitars, some falsetto vocal harmonies, too. The whole thing sounds like a bit of teeny bopper pop rock from the '50s '60s or '60s, of course, with a slightly trippy sheen on it.

Then things feel even more vintage on the following track, "Anywhere But Here", which is a simple, spacey, slow jam type of ballad in 3/4. It's like a vocal group tune from generations ago, complete with these spoken word passages to really enhance the theatrics of the lyrics. They are performed in Portuguese and are seemingly credited to Noah's daughter Nadja, too.

Following this is "50mg", which is one of a few tracks on this record that head in very much a reggae direction. Now, am I surprised that a production nut who has played so deeply within the field of psychedelic music for as long as he has understands and appreciates the finer nuances of a genre like dub? No, I'm not surprised by that. But I still did not expect this sound to turn up on this record in such an overt way and for it to sound so good. But the tune that Noah has written for this track is so sharp, it really really overshadows any genre trappings it's wrapped in, as we're hit with all these surreal and unnerving lyrics that see Noah navigating not just age, but I think a bit of imposter syndrome, too.

We also have "Ends Meet" on this record, which is yet again another very hooky, acid-washed banger with a throwback appeal. The tune and the chords, honestly, are, weirdly enough, giving La Bamba vibes. On some level, this tune does sound like your uncle getting funky at the family wedding. But it still goes. I love that somehow Noah on this record on multiple occasions is touching, even pole dancing, on every uncool third rail in music and somehow sounding amazing doing it. Also, the pure scuzzy noise solo on the bridge of this track is a surprising and, I think, very interesting addition to the song. It's like this fun edgy distraction to throw you off of the actually cheesy source material inspiring this track.

We have more slight reggae vibes on the track "Ferry Lady", which was a pretty strong lead single to this record. The track has a repetitive quality to its instrumental and a groove that really locks in and chugs along, making it one of the more hypnotic numbers on the LP.

Then from here, Noah keeps things interesting lyrically and sonically in the final leg of the record. "Venom's In" takes on the flavor of more vintage vocal pop with some of the most excellent chord changes and vocal melodies of any Panda Bear song on the chorus. "Out of the crossfire, out of the optical / into the fire, get cleaned by the flame." The bars this man is writing, he is really on another level with this record.

"Left in the Cold", musically, structurally, is maybe more along the lines of what I would have expected from a Panda Bear album. It's mostly this very lengthy, washed-out, blissful, ambient, droney motif, which doesn't rock my socks in the way that a lot of other tracks do, but I don't mind something of this length of this vibe, a blissful little oasis toward the back end of the record. As far as the overall experience of the album, it's a nice switch up. Again, I expected at least a little bit of something along these lines on a Panda Bear album.

And "Elegy for Noah Lou" is another slower moment on the record, but very much a songwriter type song. It's six minutes, the longest cut here by a mile. The whole thing really feels like a classic multifaceted folk ballad that is very much giving The Sound of Silence type vibes or even a "House of the Rising Sun", something along those lines, very pained, very dramatic, somewhat confessional too, as Noah lends the track this emotionally charged performance that isn't hit with too many effects outside of a few echoes and some reverb. It's very raw and intimate in comparison with everything else on the record, and it's the better for it.

The closing track is a pretty strong collaboration with fellow pop and rock nostalgist, I would say experimental and psychedelic artist, Cindy Lee, who we have covered before on the channel and also obviously has connections to the Canadian indie rock outfit, Women, which is really a nice old-school blog era parallel that both Cindy and Panda share.

But yeah, very tight, direct 10 tracks on on this record. Maybe not nearly as overpowering or as panoramic as some of the stuff Panda Bear has dropped up until this point. This record is definitely catchier and more straightforward than it is ambient or psychedelic leaning, I suppose. Not nearly as much navelgazing as I expected, and honestly, I'm happy about that, as what we got instead are a series of very well-produced, very lush and effect-heavy pop tunes that are so melodic, so well-written, so groovy and wonderfully-textured, with some commendable melodies and personal lyricism to boot.

Also, shout out to Deakin for doing some sweet co-production on this baby over here.

But yeah, outside of a few tracks that pale in comparison to others, I don't really have a whole lot of complaints about this record. I loved it front to back, making it handily my favorite Panda Bear solo effort to date, which is why I'm feeling a light to decent 9 on it.

Anthony Fantano, Panda Bear, Forever.