Person Pitch [LP] by Panda Bear (Vinyl, Jun-2007, EMI Music Distribution)

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Person Pitch [LP] by Panda Bear (Vinyl, Jun-2007, EMI Music Distribution).

C&P Paw Tracks

2 Disc Vinyl Album - in Paper Sleeves

Condition: Excellent- No Scratches - Records in Protective Inner Sleeve

Animal Collective member Panda Bear (a.k.a. Noah Lennox) boldly returns with his long-awaited third solo record. Person Pitch marks a dramatic departure from Panda Bear's previous solo recordings. A marriage & recent move to Lisbon facilitated a new sonic palette, taking in Caetano Veloso, Scott Walker & perhaps more obviously, The Beach Boys, with at times what can only be described as submersive-dub.

* Date First Available ‏ : ‎ June 20, 2007

* Label ‏ : ‎ Paw Tracks

Number of records ‏ : ‎ 2

Tracks

Disc 1

A. Comfy in Nautica   /  Take Pills

B.  Bros

Disc 2

C. Good Girl / Carrots

D. I’m Not. /  Search for Delicious. / Ponytail

Animal Collective member Panda Bear (a.k.a. Noah Lennox) boldly returns with his long-awaited third solo record Person Pitch. Years in the making, Person Pitch marks a dramatic departure from Panda Bear's previous solo record Young Prayer. The acoustic instruments of Young Prayer have been replaced with samplers and electronics.

Fusing Panda's dramatic life changes over the past few years (marriage, moving to Lisbon, becoming a father) with his ever-increasing sonic palette (standouts include Caetano Veloso, Berlin Techno, Scott Walker, and Kylie Minogue), Person Pitch is suffused with the kind of feel good modern toe-tapping pop that seems harder and harder to find these days.

Paw Tracks feels that the passing of time will show Panda Bear's Person Pitch sitting alongside the great solo albums of Paul McCartney, George Michael, and Ghostface Killah. Luckily we don't have to wait.

As a member of the acclaimed Animal Collective, Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear) has for years been making music that mixes experimental structures with a pure '60s pop sensibility. On his second solo album of looped and layered experimental post-pop, he shows considerable skill in crafting songs that retain the essence of psychedelia while having been crafted with loop-based home recording methods. The album's finest moment has to be "Bros," a slowly percolating and unapologetically lovely twelve-and-a-half-minute song. Like Brian Wilson lost in a K-hole, gorgeous harmonies soaked in echo bump up against each other until they reach a rhythmic, fascinating crescendo. Elsewhere, Panda Bear's music tends toward the same effect a tad too much, often without the same transcendent quality. Person Pitch has fabulous moments aplenty, though (as with Captain Beefheart's 1968 Strictly Personal) one does wish that fewer reverb-soaked vocals were used, or that they were used even further, pushed into complete abstract dissociation. --Mike McGonigal

Don't let the terms sample and hipster nor the name Brian Wilson deter you from this record. The artist didn't simply jack older recordings and then knock it out by laying down the vocals. I'm sure there was a process from digging, compressing, time stretching, manipulating loops/reverb, adjusting octaves between treble and bass clef, mixing, and so forth. Yes, Pitchfork kisses the paws of Panda Bear but if you do your research you will find wide-ranging publications (major and indie) giving "Person Pitch" high critical acclaim. And no... Noah Lennox is not the second coming of Brian Wilson. Noah Lennox is the first coming of Noah Lennox. I found his vocals to be an added instrument to the already lush musical template (yes..I equate a sampler when done with integrity as music so sue me). Although at times it is hard to decipher the lyrics, the voice is so aurally engaging that it can put you in a totally relaxed state of mind. It reminds me of Elizabeth Frasier from the Cocteau Twins in that lyrical understanding is sacrificed to magnify the ethereal bliss of the atmosphere. When you do make sense of the lyrics they may not leave your jaw on the ground. Take "Good Girl/Carrots", for example. One of the lines, Noah sings "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". Does it sound childish? Yeah, but part of the point is that "Person Pitch" may not be that accessible and the artist doesn't pretend like it should be. However; when the words are sung with such conviction and emotion then I can't simply nitpick at the nursery rhyme reference(s). I am pleasantly surprised at the sheer range of appreciation shout outs in the liner notes. Noah gives credit to so many artists across so many different genres. I love the fact that he even incorporates a vintage Lee 'Scratch' Perry dub sound to "Carrots" making it a highlight for me. I really love this record. Every time I listen to the album in its entirety I pick up numerous nuances that I missed with a recent listen. I've always felt that the best records are the ones that you don't get instant gratification from but rather pick up new things with each re-visit. This is a record that I hold in high regards and it is certainly one of my favorites from the 2000's. Pitch perfect!

Thank heavens for Noah Lennox. His follow-up to the excellent Young Prayer LP is its complete inverse: maximal where the prior was minimal, cheerful instead of mournful, more influenced by dub and electronica than folk. And yet both albums are great.

Person Pitch begins with "Comfy in Nautica", which both defines the album's sound and provides an accessible jumping-off point, like any good opener should. To get an idea of what the sound is like this time around, picture Brian Wilson singing in the middle of a car factory somewhere in the middle of Africa, with drums and noises from outside sometimes working their way into the mix, and the occasional guest appearance by some thick, dubby basslines.

"Comfy in Nautica" itself is pretty simple; some clattering industrial percussion, a towering looped vocal sample and Lennox's heavily reverbed vocals. These same elements show up repeatedly elsewhere on the album, but thankfully there's much more to it than just that. Take, for instance, the ferocious tabla opener to "Good Girl/Carrots", the second of two twelve-minute epics on the album, and one of my favorite tracks. This is followed by a loping, easy section. The lyrics here seem to reference Mitch Hedburg, before breaking off into a gentle debate with a music snob who's attempting to put Lennox down. Then the track drifts underwater, accompanied by chimes and heavy bass as Panda exhorts us to "Take a risk just for yourselves/and wade into the deepest of the oceans". The track ends on an exultant note, the shimmering chimes drawing it to its close.

In fact, I'm pretty sure Person Pitch is worth buying for "Carrots" alone. But other tracks like the whirling, giddy guitar jam of "Bros" and the smooth echoes of "I'm Not" are equally elating. It's easily the happiest album released this year, and probably the most conventionally listenable thing any member of Animal Collective has ever created.