Collected Animals

Amen

I know everyone says Beach Boys but "Anywhere but Here" is pure Beatles to me. I can almost hear their harmonies on that chorus. I'm really fixated on this song lol.

god I love the full-circle narrative of this thing, reconnecting with his oldest friend, tinkering in the studio like old times, "going back to basics", centered around the ending of the relationship that first brought him to lisbon where he started the journey with person pitch. and its his last record for his domino contract?? assuming he'll re-sign if they offer, but have they offered???

So funny now that I was kinda pretty quietly, softly, but assuredly disappointed with Defense. Expectations were lowered but I also knew it wasn't one of the Madrid tracks I remembered loving and that at least some of those would be present (and they all are right? Except Danger ofc.)

But ya its just a more context-than-usual track. I still reckon it's my least favorite but it's doing something unique as the cap off. It is a like like Lucky 1 on DT as someone here predicted early on. Now could Virginia Tech be the closer as well and maybe a lil stronger? Could Danger? Perhaps..

Also Defense is the only song that doesn't seem to have this rich, articulate verbal density that everything else does. But when it's after all the other stuff, that quality doesn't hurt it. Ends Meet is the most middle period style abstract lyrics from what I can tell. So ya singles kinda mislead af, except maybe Ferry but even that is slower than most of the 1st half.

I will not tolerate Lucky 1 slander.

As a sidenote on the album, Anywhere But Here, 50mg, and Venom's In have been in heavy rotation. I've loved 50mg since I saw it live.

thinking praise and 50mg are nasty... so good songs .. i dont think a tempo lost hurts them per se ... 50mg especially is helped by being slowed down i think ... matches the steel guitar and harmonies so much more and lets you live in the "fantasy fallacy" part for a lil bit .. should i type more fucking dots ... yes ...

Faith fully restored.

Also, I was worried on first listen that this thing might be too immediate but 10 listens in and it just keeps blossoming.

Bloody loving this thing.

anybody got dem chords... wanna add em to the chords section... I wanna play these so bad but im chord deaf and also dont rlly wanna do his tuning but maybe I should. I wanna play like friggin all of these. except defense, defense blows lol jk

Prediction: Noah and Josh are going to start a soulful sophistipop/new wave side project called Lennox & Dibb that will take the top 40 by storm

okay dewey!

so far my feelings on the album have not shifted much from the first listen, but ferry lady is growing in my estimation more than expected. i didn't think much of it as a single, yet it's become a highlight of the album for me.

it's interesting that this album doesn't have many songs that would have made obvious good singles, considering it's one of his most straightforwardly pop albums. my takeaway is that panda, for all his pop artist bonafides, is not much of a singles artist except when he's featuring or collabing with someone else. as a fan, i think his post- person pitch mode of songwriting can cause a lot of his songs to feel somewhat inert when taken out of context, at least on first or second listen. he doesn't usually go for big shifts or ecstatic moments; a song often keeps within its parameters from start to finish. there'll be some big hooks but the song is gonna stay on rails. it's a much different experience to listen to his albums and track the emotional peaks and valleys from one song to the next.

this is one of his most immediately fulfilling albums and i think the sequencing plays a major role. it has a clear emotional arc from beginning to end, each song's vibe a natural progression from the previous one as you slide into the melancholy depths. you have a sense of where it's going the whole time because the poppy first half sees him struggling against despair, anxiety and regret, so by the time it gets more impressionist near the end, you can feel what those songs are about at their core. and it all sets up defense to be a soaring jolt of energy with a well earned guitar solo. it's a satisfying journey.

edit - immediately questioning my appraisal of how his songwriting doesn't often have big ecstatic moments. i think maybe it happens more often than i was giving him credit for but still a lot of his songs stay fairly static/repetitive, including most of the songs on this album to some degree.

good interview:

I would really like it if they did a live at KEXP session for this when they play Seattle in May. Just trying to speak that into existence.

Also, I'm loving this surround mix on my 5.1 setup. It's so tastefully done. Not too flashy or distracting in the rear speakers, but there's enough there to be really enveloping. I noticed I don't have anything (or very little?) coming out of my center speaker, which is actually great! I've heard mixes where the vocals come out of the center, and while it does kinda make them jump out, it just doesn't feel right. Could be a result of my center speaker just being so different from my other speakers too. But this way the vocals are huge and wide, but very balanced. Haven't a/b'd much, but I think Josh was able to keep the surround mix pretty true to the stereo mix by skipping the center? Killer job, I was so excited for this to be in mixed surround and it's everything I hoped for! I wish you could buy the Atmos mix on bandcamp or something. Just gotta pray that Apple music exists forever.

Now, if we could get MPP remixed in Atmos.......

good interview:

https://youtu.be/94DEBFyuclA?si=6TbbK2RKzHVlnSYV

bummer noah's feeling most of the people at his shows with toro y moi are not into his music. def did feel that way at the show i was at unfortunately

roopn wrote:

good interview:

https://youtu.be/94DEBFyuclA?si=6TbbK2RKzHVlnSYV

bummer noah's feeling most of the people at his shows with toro y moi are not into his music. def did feel that way at the show i was at unfortunately

yeah that really sucks

Finally listened a few times last night!! Got a couple more in this morning too. So happy that I like this as much as everyone else.

I’ve recently been getting back into the mod-ish music I was into in my early teens. The Who, Small Faces, The Action, etc. Feels like there is a huge dose of that time period in this record.

It’s strange how a record can be so directly and fun and danceable - while still being dreamy and floaty. Feels like a waterfall at times.

Really does feel like the culmination of the last two AC records, as well as Buoys and Reset. Kinda a dream PB album for me.

Anywhere but Here is something else man. Like a song out of time. I think the production has a lot to do with that. Sounds immaculate.

Just flies by too. Perfect sequencing.

Sure I will have more thoughts in the future. A really life-affirming record.

awesome wrote:

roopn wrote:

good interview:

https://youtu.be/94DEBFyuclA?si=6TbbK2RKzHVlnSYV

bummer noah's feeling most of the people at his shows with toro y moi are not into his music. def did feel that way at the show i was at unfortunately

yeah that really sucks

90% toro fans??? thats wild to me. esp because Cause of This felt like such a response to Person pitch. thought the toro fans wouldve already been anco/pb fans.
its supposed to be a split bill but its a bummer to hear noah say he feels like theyre opening for them

ya scared/sad to see him with toro in Denver in May. It's gonna be hard for me to chill if it feels like people are talking over him. Lots of ac fans in Denver but ya who knows. Maybe some people aren't going cuz tix a lil more expensive than normal and cuz of shared bill? idk, bummer but he sounds like he has a good attitude about it. No more toro splits, domino...

That’s crazy… didn’t Toro lift the vocal intonation of Leaf House for one of his songs a few years back? How do you dig Toro and not PB…

when tf is pithfork going to put out their review?

when tf is pithfork going to put out their review?

keep in mind they gave homies a 6.6

https://www.gq.com/story/panda-bears-long-road-home

This GQ write up gets so personal that it kind of makes my brain hurt. But it is really interesting to see the man open up and definitely made me both happy and sad.

https://www.gq.com/story/panda-bears-long-road-home

This GQ write up gets so personal that it kind of makes my brain hurt. But it is really interesting to see the man open up and definitely made me both happy and sad.

Tiny Desk Concert

Was playing around with visuals when I listened to Sinister Grift for the first time. Happy how it turned out so decided to share!

Hope yall had a weekend

jerry wonder wrote:

when tf is pithfork going to put out their review?

keep in mind they gave homies a 6.6

Low for sure but not far off. SG is league above Homies

https://www.gq.com/story/panda-bears-long-road-home

This GQ write up gets so personal that it kind of makes my brain hurt. But it is really interesting to see the man open up and definitely made me both happy and sad.

non-paywalled version https://archive.is/SxBG8

https://www.gq.com/story/panda-bears-long-road-home

This GQ write up gets so personal that it kind of makes my brain hurt. But it is really interesting to see the man open up and definitely made me both happy and sad.

wow that must the most in depth/walls-down piece on him ever, yeah? glad to hear he seems to be doing better lately after what sounds like quite a rough patch. so curious to hear how the tiny desk comes out

yeah, really great read. surprising to learn that he's never sought Portuguese citizenship and is lowkey toying with the idea of moving back to the us

i love grayson haver currin's writing, and one of my favorite things about him is missing his byline and wondering why i'm enjoying a piece so much (the hiking bit gave it away this time).

obviously biased for NC but he's just so great and such smart taste

roopn wrote:

awesome wrote:

roopn wrote:

good interview:

https://youtu.be/94DEBFyuclA?si=6TbbK2RKzHVlnSYV

bummer noah's feeling most of the people at his shows with toro y moi are not into his music. def did feel that way at the show i was at unfortunately

yeah that really sucks

90% toro fans??? thats wild to me. esp because Cause of This felt like such a response to Person pitch. thought the toro fans wouldve already been anco/pb fans.
its supposed to be a split bill but its a bummer to hear noah say he feels like theyre opening for them

Yeah, they were really disrespectful and talked over all of Panda's set. Also, Toro doesn't make music that sounds like his first album anymore. It's like SoundCloud rap now.

kinetic wrote:

roopn wrote:

awesome wrote:

roopn wrote:

good interview:

https://youtu.be/94DEBFyuclA?si=6TbbK2RKzHVlnSYV

bummer noah's feeling most of the people at his shows with toro y moi are not into his music. def did feel that way at the show i was at unfortunately

yeah that really sucks

90% toro fans??? thats wild to me. esp because Cause of This felt like such a response to Person pitch. thought the toro fans wouldve already been anco/pb fans.
its supposed to be a split bill but its a bummer to hear noah say he feels like theyre opening for them

Yeah, they were really disrespectful and talked over all of Panda's set. Also, Toro doesn't make music that sounds like his first album anymore. It's like SoundCloud rap now.

I saw him at T5 in NY and there were some PB heads but it definitely filled up more when Toro was coming. I'm pretty sure my friends and I were like the only people who left before Toro lol ... could definitely feel a lot of people around me were not there for PB and were somewhat astounded by the amount of energy I had for what they saw as an opener lol...

man i feel so bad for my dude from this article. as someone who has been on and off mentally in the past couple years i know what the vibe is. also such a bummer that Toro fans seem to not give a shit about his set?

complete non-sequitur it sounds like Noah is singing about Tom Scharpling on "Just as Well" and i know it isnt but i hear it as that every time

Holy shit did anyone else read the GQ article? Maybe the most information Panda Bear has ever given about himself. Answers a ton of questions and fills a ton of gaps. Super super super good read

https://www.gq.com/story/panda-bears-long-road-home

that interview is insane. dayum. the candid mention of suicide planning hits fucking close to home!! jesus!!! this is mister mantra really opening up. also, lil continuity to another one of my favorite ac interview moments, geo mentioning "knife hits" which connects abck to the bonefish interview where avey tells the little chungus podcaster what knife hits were LMAO. this album - it is so good and i am pleasantly surprised at the actually good reception its getting ... wow

thelucky1 wrote:

kinetic wrote:

roopn wrote:

awesome wrote:

roopn wrote:

good interview:

https://youtu.be/94DEBFyuclA?si=6TbbK2RKzHVlnSYV

bummer noah's feeling most of the people at his shows with toro y moi are not into his music. def did feel that way at the show i was at unfortunately

yeah that really sucks

90% toro fans??? thats wild to me. esp because Cause of This felt like such a response to Person pitch. thought the toro fans wouldve already been anco/pb fans.
its supposed to be a split bill but its a bummer to hear noah say he feels like theyre opening for them

Yeah, they were really disrespectful and talked over all of Panda's set. Also, Toro doesn't make music that sounds like his first album anymore. It's like SoundCloud rap now.

I saw him at T5 in NY and there were some PB heads but it definitely filled up more when Toro was coming. I'm pretty sure my friends and I were like the only people who left before Toro lol ... could definitely feel a lot of people around me were not there for PB and were somewhat astounded by the amount of energy I had for what they saw as an opener lol...

Yeah, the dude next to me was so annoyed I was singing but fuck him it's a concert.

To reorient this back to the album, I am really getting attached to 50mg and Left In the Cold. Left In the Cold is so haunting and matches how I'm feeling right now. That song probably has his best vocal performance so far.

There is an undeniable metric I have for a good song, when I stop what I'm doing and look at my speaker. Happens every time with Just as Well

dio wrote:

Spoiler: show

So funny now that I was kinda pretty quietly, softly, but assuredly disappointed with Defense. Expectations were lowered but I also knew it wasn't one of the Madrid tracks I remembered loving and that at least some of those would be present (and they all are right? Except Danger ofc.)

But ya its just a more context-than-usual track. I still reckon it's my least favorite but it's doing something unique as the cap off. It is a like like Lucky 1 on DT as someone here predicted early on. Now could Virginia Tech be the closer as well and maybe a lil stronger? Could Danger? Perhaps..

Also Defense is the only song that doesn't seem to have this rich, articulate verbal density that everything else does. But when it's after all the other stuff, that quality doesn't hurt it. Ends Meet is the most middle period style abstract lyrics from what I can tell. So ya singles kinda mislead af, except maybe Ferry but even that is slower than most of the 1st half.

I will not tolerate Lucky 1 slander.

As a sidenote on the album, Anywhere But Here, 50mg, and Venom's In have been in heavy rotation. I've loved 50mg since I saw it live.

woah woah woah buddy, didn't mean to slander Lucky 1, I love that song and did the day it dropped in '10, so I don't mean it's like Defense like that, just that it's this happy ending to an otherwise sad stretch of song (or almost whole album in DT's case).

But yeah for some reason it do seem like Domino has weird single picks. But I don't even hate it... Dolphin is a kinda weird but kinda vibey first peak at Buoys that left an impression and Defense left like a almost kinda wrong impression and spoiled the ending but idk, maybe they were right to do it cuz of the Cindy Lee connection in '24 was just buzzy.

And Ends Meet fully makes sense whereas Ferry Lady almost doesn't? but I also like not getting spoiled on the Madrid songs that DO seem like they could all be singles, mostly Praise and Just as Well. (guess praise is a single now).

Anywayyyyy, like Praise, JAW and Ends Meet seem like the most obvi but Venom's kinda coulda been too. Is single talk interesting? no? my b. This album is so bellisima. It feels like a balmy summer night in Lisbon with loved ones.

that GQ cover story on Panda Bear is truly insane, nearly surreal to be able to get that close to Noah for a bit. the depth and the vulnerability. chilling and inspiring. what a fuckin' journey Noah's been on... i felt like i was holding something really tender listening to Sinister Grift and saw Noah in a new light after this album... just feeling so much closer and more compassionate to him, his music and story.

the article furthers this feeling to the point i just feel like damn, Noah really went through the darkness these past five years and brought us this album on the other side.

from that other interview too where he mentions the Hero's journey and going from darkness into the wasteland and "Defense" being the light on the other side...

blessed to be a fan of such a fantastic crew of humans ...

pretty exciting to think if he moved back to the US, all 4 AC boys could be living within a few hours of one another again. the future is bright for the collective, either in solo or group spaces.....

Absolutely epic write up. To add on to the comments, I find myself really appreciating Josh's role in the formation of this band. If he hadn't advocated for himself to stop being home-schooled to his parents at that young age, who knows where we'd be.

There is an undeniable metric I have for a good song, when I stop what I'm doing and look at my speaker. Happens every time with Just as Well

Nailed it, totally right

damn fov i was just about to post a very similar thing - if i put this album on loop while im deep in the zone working and it's just on in the background, it's just as well that breaks my concentration, it demands that you vibe to it

that gq article was a fascinating read - i couldn't help but think how cool it would be to have similarly in depth profiles on the rest of the gang