Reason 8 (2009's Sweetest Moment of Musical Bromance)

Enough with the warmth!

Let's have a song. I feel like something poppy today. As such, I've opted for Atlas Sound's 'Walkabout', featuring none other than our very own Panda Bear.

Enjoy "2009's sweetest moment of musical bromance" (Pitchfork); it's hard not to. 

Reason 7 (Warmth)

Palatable warmth continued:

As mentioned in the last two posts, I find that one of the ways in which Panda Bear (especially in Person Pitch) makes samples/tunes his own involves infusing them with warmth.

The following is a brief YouTube clip that shows the various samples that he uses in Person Pitch:

The music he samples is by itself great, but you can really feel the difference when you hear his versions.

Take 'Bros' for example (1:00 into the clip). He takes a great lick from The Tornadoes' 'Red Roses and a Sky of Blue', and whirls all sorts of noise and effects around it for the first 7 or so minutes of the song. This creates an atmosphere of warmth that renders the lick (if you'll allow me), 'Red Roses [, an Orange Haze, Gold Sun] and a Sky of Blue'.

Reason 6 (Lisbon)

Yesterday, I used the (somewhat cringe inducing) phrase "palatable warmth" to describe how Panda Bear makes Bach's tune his own.

Instead of shying away from this (again, fairly cringe-worthy) metaphor, I plan to dig deeper!

Warmth. Person Pitch was recorded in Lisbon, and (as reviewers have pointed out) the album evokes the reds, golds, and oranges of such a city.


To be continued ...

Reason 5 (Track 3)

Today, we step away from Person Pitch to look at (the untitled) 'Track 3' from Young Prayer:

A beautiful short instrumental piece. It's definitely reminiscent of Bach's 1076 Canon Triple Ex.

But, as always, Panda Bear makes it his own, adding (amongst other things) a palatable warmth to the tune.

Reason 4 (Bros)

Now that we've had a (lovely) facial interlude, it's time to return to Person Pitch.

Track 3, Bros:

I like Pitchfork's write up:

Freed from the strategic abrasions of Animal Collective, the solo Panda Bear quickly succumbs to pure loveliness. The epic "Bros" drifts through several movements, all vying to outdo the last with voluptuous prettiness. From sighing multi-tracked vocals to jewel-box loops to caramelized guitar riffs, each layer adds hypnotic depth to a song whose gorgeousness seems dangerously excessive from the start, a sugar-rush that might end in psychosis. Doubled-over with luscious detail, the swelling arrangement shimmers like the air above the pavement on a hot day, its hazy swirl achieving a completeness not likely to be recaptured by next year's inevitable throngs of imitators. --Tim Finney