Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper

a sonic exploration of artistic mortality and the power of transformation

today, i’m revisiting the album Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, the fifth studio album by Animal Collective’s very own Panda Bear (a.k.a Noah Lennox). this album was released on January 9, 2015, which was nearly 4 years after his previous solo release Tomboy — and 3 years following the release of his band’s ninth studio album Centipede Hz¹

stylized on its cover as PBVSGR, this was the first deluxe record i ever purchased for myself; the next was Multi-Love by Unknown Mortal Orchestra in the same year, so you see what kinda time i was (am) on.

i initially heard the album’s lead single “Mr. Noah” in an Urban Outfitters fitting room before (or after) one of my shifts at Warby Parker, as one would in 2014. i shazam’d the track with the quickness and discovered that it was none other than Mr. Noah Lennox himself.

like most young recovering hipsters with eclectic taste, i had absolutely fallen in love with Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion in 2009. this album led me to do a deep dive into the band’s aughties discography, so in that fitting room, i instantly recognized the trippy, haunting, & divine choral elements that are so signature of Lennox’s singing and production. the way he really maximizes his tenor range gets you every time.

as the album title suggests, Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper does explore existential themes of grief and internal conflict, but more than that, it’s about transformation. it’s akin to seeing the Death card in a tarot reading — it’s rarely as ominous or morbid as it seems. it may give you pause, but perhaps it inspires an opportunity for you to reinvent yourself in an ego death sorta way. in describing the album, Lennox compared the work to something “more comic-booky, a little more lighthearted.”

borrowing from an old-school nursery rhyme, the fifth track on this album “Butcher Baker Candlestick Maker” absolutely make sense within this context, especially with lyrics like “and one’s a friend of mine. and one’s a Gemini.” as a solo artist (and within Animal Collective overall), Lennox is considered a purveyor of left-field genres such as neo-psychedelia and freak folk, so playful lyrics like this are to be expected.

yet, he gives us something beyond that on this record by pulling from a wealth of inspirations to reimagine his own electronic musical legacy. among the notable influences on PBVSGR are video games, 90’s hip-hop, 70’s dub records, and more. Lennox used ready-made sample packs — a way of playing with the conventions of what may be expected from an experimental artist of his ilk, while also giving longtime listeners something familiar.

the album was co-produced by Lennox and Pete Kember (known professionally as Sonic Boom). the latter worked with Lennox on his earlier record Tomboy and produced MGMT’s Congratulations², in addition to many other experimental pop albums.

my favorite track on PBVSGR is “Crosswords” which features a sample of the funk song “Ashley’s Roachclip” by The Soul Searchers. this is a famous drum break sample, most notably heard in songs such as “Paid in Full” by Eric B. & Rakim, “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” by P.M. Dawn, “Run’s House” by Run-DMC and countless other hits.

across this album, there are plenty of songs to enjoy dancing to. just imagine me in my kitchen doing the Bankhead Bounce³ to the single “Boys Latin.” with such lush, neatly-built layers, it’s one of those tracks you absolutely anticipate the count of and once you start moving, some part of your body will stay committed throughout the song’s run.⁴

this song is followed by the 7-minute experience “Come to Your Senses,” where Panda Bear continually poses the question “are you mad?” the repetition hones in on the emotional journey that something like ego death evokes. once we get to track 8, the tone of the production shifts to a slightly more somber tone with “Tropic of Cancer,” a song about Lennox’s father and his battle with terminal illness. sonically, this song is reminiscent of both a lullaby and a eulogy, which speaks to the album being about the various cycles of life.

if this point in the album represents a rebirth, the remaining tracks signify a “Lonely Wanderer” embarking on his new journey.

7 years later and i’m still learning so much about this record with each listen. two copies of the related Mr Noah EP also exist in my collection. this body of work is a four-track stunner featuring the lead single. later in 2015, Panda Bear also released the PBVSGR Remixes and Crosswords EPs, but i’ve yet to acquire these.⁵

because of this album revisit, i’ll likely be adding PBVSGR back into a more steady rotation this year. if you haven’t listened to this album before, i recommend you check it out and absorb its themes without interruption or disruption. i’ll leave you with this throwback photo of me wearing my PBVSGR tee. enjoy your weekend and happy listening <3

1. another record in my collection — should i do an AnCo series?

2. also in collection on CD; will add to the calendar

3. the Bankhead Bounce is absolutely my litmus test for whether a song has a undeniable groove — see also: “the Wop”

4. consider this as my unofficial petition to bring back twerking to indie music — real 2010s Tumblr denizens remember

5. dropping hints that i also have yet to add Merriweather Post Pavilion to the collection in any format [my birthday is in July, do with that info what you will ;)]