Tomboy

With just one review so far, I think we should get the ball rolling on Tomboy...

This is a very sucessful album. As many reviews have mentioned, Tomboy is not necessarily a 'follow-up' album to Person Pitch. The sound is simpler in a way that is hard to describe. The melody, idea, hook, or whatever, behind each song is simpler but the mood of each song and the spacey atmospheric production makes simple sound BIG. Listen at high volume.

The sound: not exactly organic as some reviews would have one think. Imagine heavily processed guitar over a simple beat, with layer after layer of reverberating vocals. The obvious reference might be the infamous 'wall of sound' but I really don't have another record that sounds like this one.

Tomboy has an interesting history because of the rather odd way in which it was slowly secreted by its creator. Panda has toured these songs and released many in a rawer form as 7" singles. This has given the listener the odd choice of having a choice. The work of Sonic Boom on the LP version of these songs is certainly noticable. If one word has been used as jornalistic shorthand to describe the music of Panda Bear and his legions, it is "nostalgic". Sonic Boom knows this adjective; in fact, MGMT's Boom produced album Congratulations has beocme one of this reviewers go-to records due to this nostaligic touch that is heard in songs such as "I Found A Whistle" and "Siberian Breaks". He was an excellent choice to mix these songs for the LP. The synth line on Tomboy is one example of a welcome addition that his mixes have provided, as are the percussive additions to "Last Night at the Jetty" and "Slow Motion".

Surprises include the pulsing "Afterburner", the sole track that Panda is willing to stretch to any great length. Also a welcome surprise is the download of the 9/11/10 show that Panda played at Governor's Island, NY - this bootleg was a wonderful audience recording made even more pristine with the mastering touch of Sonic Boom...BONUS!!

Drones, repetition, and ecccchoohooohooohooo. These are good things.

Having considered myself a devotee of all things related to Animal Collective, I was thrilled to hear some advance tracks from Panda Bear's third solo album, "Person Pitch." The 12 minute "Bros" was (and is) simply stunning to me. Panda Bear's voice had long been the honeyed chaser to Avey Tare's more manic delivery in Animal Collective, but here that beautiful yearning coo was the main focus of the music, mixed with washes of hazy synths and drifting in a hypnotically repetitive epic that owed as much to minimalist techno as to Brian Wilson and hippie jam bands. Perhaps most impressively, the sound of "Bros" was a significant departure in sound from anything anyone from the Collective had done previously, including Panda's own solo work. Surely, this was a sign that the AC spirit was going strong, and promised many more releases showcasing their restless experimentalism and constant evolution of sound.

Alas, I was a bit disappointed with the proper release of Person Pitch. I belong to a minority of people who feel that PP would have been much more effective and impressive as an EP rather than as a full album. For me, "Take Pills," "Bros," "I'm Not," and "Good Girl/Carrots" sound fantastic on their own, and are brought down by the surrounding tracks. I realize that this is heresy to some, but I found myself overdosing on the syrupy sweetness of the album as a whole. I enjoyed certain tracks, but waited anxiously for the next AC-related release to offer some nice contrast to Panda's Wall of Pet Sounds experiment.

For the most part, AC's Strawberry Jam (released shortly after Person Pitch) did offer a new direction in sound (some a bit questionable to me, see review for details), although Panda's contributions were again sunny, Wilson-inspired numbers, somewhat reminiscent of PP. Then, 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion demonstrated an embrace by the entire band of Panda's feel-good sugar time approach to music. Of course, I thought it sounded pleasant enough, but it became clear that my fearless heroes of experimental tribal music were starting to show signs of creative satiety. As critical praise for the band continued to increase, my hope in the old AC philosophy began to diminish. And, looking back, it all had started with Panda's Person Pitch.

So now we have Panda's fourth solo outing, "Tomboy." Panda has stated that he didn't want this to be a retread of Person Pitch, and there are indeed some differences, like using treated guitars and drums rather than samples for his arrangements. But let's not kid ourselves: these are very minor variations on the now-canonical PP sound: ethereal, meditative repetition with Panda's voice treated to sound like a drugged up Heavenly Host at the beach. Strong moments are to be found, for sure, such as the melancholy "Slow Motion" and the spacious "Scheherazade." Like Person Pitch, though, this release would have been better presented as an EP of its most essential cuts. Listening to the whole album, its true moments of fragile beauty are bogged down not only by the less inspired tracks, but by the overload of droning ethereal sweetness that has come to be Panda's trademark.

Compare this with his second album, "Young Prayer," and notice how affecting and beautiful the stark arrangements and production can be. Also notice how different in sound that one is from "Person Pitch."

I realize that some people can't get enough of this canonical PP sound, but I just wish he'd try something else.

If you're like me, you'll take the best songs from this one and enjoy a Tomboy EP, while waiting for another artist to fill the creative void that AC has decided to leave (currently, I'm hoping that Gang Gang Dance's new album will deliver).

Simple but enveloping and incredible sound, consistently high quality songs through the whole album, and Panda Bear's changed what he sings about since the last time he was releasing solo...

One of the most resonant things I've ever heard. It will stay with you. Gotta get it.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 16 reviews  3.8 out of 5 stars