As his voice, under heavy reverb, loops “say what it is I want to say” over and over in the seventh track on his latest album, Tomboy, the listener may ask a simple question to Noah Lennox a.k.a. Panda Bear: “What exactly are you saying?”
As a follow-up to his 2006 album Person Pitch, Panda Bear’s answer may just be, “That I’m a master at sound collage.” After a few listens to the album, one might hear only a few phrases throughout the entire album , but for those familiar with Lennox and his band Animal Collective, it’s a familiar feeling.
Lennox uses loops upon loops layered upon layers to create the sound collages heard in most of his music. The full effect completes when the vocals are added on. Consumed in sound comes the Brian Wilson-esque harmonies, or at least what his compositions would sound like if he was pushed into a further level of insanity. It’s like the Beach Boys on an intense acid trip, but then again, it’s Panda Bear.
The first track, “You Can Count On Me,” is ushered in with layered vocals chanting over and over, somewhat like a hymn. Reverb as well as other effects are featured throughout the album, giving a psychedelic feeling. On the second track, the titular track “Tomboy,” rhythmic guitarwork is looped while a distorted synthesizer plays through the main melody, with Lennox’s vocals picking up where it left off. The third song, “Slow Motion,” uses a hip-hop-like beat that once again is complimented by drowned-out lyrics and distorted sound effects. The distortion continues into the fourth track, “Surfer’s Hymn,” which actually starts out with the sounds of waves on a beach. Soon, wind chimes and fast-paced marimba lead into a fast-paced maelstrom of bright melodies and vocals, which then turn into a hyper electro-pop piece. It’s at this point you might realize that your ears are listening to what seems like a sick disco trapped inside of a padded room.
Track five, “Last Night at the Jetty,” has been released for a while now continues the collage, adding in arpeggiated vocals. With music like this, which isn’t just being produced by Lennox but is being played by musicians and artists in basements across the world, one must listen to the vocals as an instrument rather than a main source of emotion, as the emotion is spread throughout the chord progressions and samples used to create the final product.
“Drone,” track six, seems like Lennox’s attempt at creating a drone-rock song. Using sustained notes and repeated patterns of sound, his voice is elongated throughout different parts of the song, creating the sound of a swarm of bees, which are referenced in the song title itself. The synthesizer used at first sounds more like a lawnmower, but by the end leaves a buzzing sound in the listener’s ear.
Distortion, reverb, and other effects are featured on the last few songs to no surprise. The eigth track, Scheherazade, mixes this up a bit by adding reverb piano chords instead of synthetics and samples. As Lennox sings on this track, one might think of sitting in a church hall as the vocals gain momentum but drift off into space like the titles of popular space fantasy films.
“Friendship Bracelet,” the ninth track on the album, uses modulation fully as the notes pounce off of one another creating a jumpy composition of noise comparable to the compositions released by Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. Also noticeable is the use of pet sounds as samples, giving Brian Wilson yet another reference in Lennox’s career.
Tomboy has something for every listener. While not your average mainstream pop album, it has heavy ethnic beats, which could possibly be lifted and used by rappers in the future. It includes heavy electro, causing the listener to move around, while also keeping the fans for yet another insane album of artistic madness.
