Thursday, June 21, 2007

Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Panda Bear
Person Pitch
(2007, Paw Tracks)
7.5/10

The hype for Person Pitch is ablaze and acclaim for Panda Bear’s follow up to the underrated Young Prayer now carries more words than most modern novels. Regardless, it is up to you to defend yourself from being won over by the majority and make sure your opinion of Person Pitch is yours. You know, you don’t have to love everything any Animal Collective member produces. Panda Bear’s third album sees him trading in the eternal acoustic strumming of previous albums to the knobs of a mixer. Spanning seven tracks of various length Person Pitch is one of the most deservedly (however overplayed the comparison is) labeled Brian-Wilson-influenced album to come out of the Paw Tracks camp. Using the genuinely beautiful harmonies that defined his influences along with slowly evolving repetitious samples, Panda Bear has molded seven extended pop songs. The effortless nature and drowsy comfort these songs embody somehow maintain an attention span but not too much more. There is nothing overtly groundbreaking here nor is there a particularly evocative melody climactic experience; just pleasantness. So, while enjoyable and recommended, for the over-hyped explorer: don’t expect the mind-blowing power Sung Tongs.

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