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Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper

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Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
Studio albumby
Panda Bear
ReleasedJanuary 9, 2015(2015-01-09)
Recorded2013–2014
StudioMiosotis Garage
(Almada,Portugal)
Estudio Namouche
(Lisbon,Portugal)[1]
Genre
Length51:10
LabelDomino
Producer
Panda Bearchronology
Mr Noah
(2014) 		Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
(2015) 		Crosswords
(2015)
SinglesfromPanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
  1. "Boys Latin"
    Released: December 15, 2014

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaperis the fifthstudio albumby American recording artistPanda Bear(aka Noah Lennox). Coproduced bySonic BoomofSpacemen 3,it was released on January 9, 2015, by theDomino Recording Company.Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaperwas preceded by the digital release of anextended play,Mr Noah,and two singles, "Mr Noah" and "Boys Latin". It was followed by the extended playCrosswords.

Background and development

[edit]

Having recorded his bleaker previous albumTomboy(2011) in a basement, Lennox wanted to go into the opposite direction onPanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper,aiming for a more "lively" and "busy" sound.[6]He began working on the album while recordingAnimal Collective'sCentipede Hz(2012) in Texas.[7]

Sonic Boom,who mixed and mastered Panda Bear's previous albumTomboy,co-produced the album.[8][9]The two spent two weeks in November 2013 refining demo recordings Panda Bear had made at home and spent five weeks, beginning in January 2014, finishing the album. Sonic Boom mixed the album on theBalearic islandofMenorca.[10]About the album title, Lennox said "It's about presenting something that we don't have an easy time dealing with in a costume that's just a little bit more clown-y."[11]It was also inspired by the titles of 1970sdubcollaboration albums such asAugustus Pablo Meets Lee Perry and the Wailers BandandKing Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown.[12]

We’re constantly forced through experiences that allow us to become something new—to create a new identity. Moving [to Portugal] was something like that for me. I had this vision of a future for myself as a person that lived in America, and then all of a sudden it was completely demolished.

—Panda Bear on the use of death as a metaphor on the album[11]

Composition

[edit]

In conversation withThe Quietus,Lennox called the LP "myhip-hopalbum "due to its extensive use of sampledbreakbeats,many of them commonly used.[13]Lennox citedDust Brothers,Q-Tip,A Tribe Called Quest,Pete Rock,DJ Premier,9th Wonder,andJ Dillaas influences.[7]The lyrical themes of the album center around personal growth, although Lennox wanted to discuss issues on a larger scale because he wanted to avoid "self-obsession or narcissism".[11]

The opening track, "Sequential Circuits", is a piece ofneo-psychedeliathat was described as "swirling" and "pure as a babbling brook".[14]"Tropic of Cancer" contains a harp sample from theNutcrackersuiteand its lyrics concern the death of Panda Bear's father. His vocal harmonies on the song were compared to those ofThe Beach Boys.[15][16]

Release and promotion

[edit]

In March 2014, Lennox announced a North American tour for May during which he would be performing tracks from the new album.[17]From July through September, he toured Europe and North America.[18]On January 11, 2015, Lennox played aBoiler Roomset atMoMA PS1.[11]Three days later, he performed "Boys Latin" onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[19]Lennox toured his show throughout Europe in March 2015.[20]He performed at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festivalon April 12 and 19 and gave seven more North American performances across April and early May.[21]Lennox performed at festivals for the rest of May and mid-June, including Shaky Knees Festival inAtlanta,Lightning in a Bottle Festival inBradley, California,Primavera Sound FestivalinBarcelonaandPitchfork Music FestivalinChicago.[22][23][24][25]

Lennox released a mixtape calledPB vs. GRon September 11, 2014.[26]On October 23, Lennox released the EPMr Noahand madePanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaperavailable for pre-order. That day also saw the release of the album's first single, "Mr Noah", and a music video directed by AB/CD/CD.[27]A teaser video for the album, directed by Danny Perez, was released on October 29.[28]The second single, "Boys Latin", was released on December 15, and was accompanied by a music video directed byIsaiah Saxonand Sean Hellfritsch. The music video had its premiere onAdult Swim.[29]A "Boys Latin" remix byAndy Stottwas released on March 2, 2015.[30]A music video for the track "Tropic of Cancer" was directed by fellow Animal Collective memberDave Portnerand released on April 8.[31]

On January 4, 2015, Lennox began his global radio campaign to premiere nine new tracks from the album. Various radio stations from around the world each premiered different tracks.[32]Two days later, he launched an interactive website including music by him and Sonic Boom, videos by Danny Perez, as well as graphics by Marco Papiro, Patakk, and Hugo Oliveira.[33]A short documentary detailing the creation,Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper,directed bySam Fleischner,was released on January 29.[34]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[35]
Metacritic82/100[36]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[37]
The A.V. ClubB−[38]
ConsequenceB[15]
The Guardian[39]
Mojo[40]
The Observer[41]
Pitchfork8.7/10[42]
Q[43]
Slant7/10[44]
Spin8/10[45]

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaperwas praised by contemporary music critics. AtMetacritic,which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 34 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[36]

Writing forConsequence,Adam Kivel lauded the "multivalent" production of the album but criticized Panda Bear's choice not to deviate from his signature sound.[15]Matthew Ritchie ofExclaim!commended the "pure breadth of his beat-making, his ear for expansive and deeply resonating melodies and his lyrics, which urge you to not go so gently into that good night."[46]Pitchforkwrote that "Grim Reaperachieves just the right balance of skull-splitting drone and head-noddin’ drive. In contrast to the unpredictably amorphous song structures that defined previous Panda Bear records, many of the songs on Grim Reaper lock into a looped beat and rarely waver course. "[47]In a mixed review, Chris Mincher ofThe A.V. Clubstated that the album "isn't too interested in taking on big challenges. Rather, Lennox distills the results of hiselectro-psychedelicexperiments into simpler elements that pair well with (relatively) straightforward melodies and throwbackhip-hoptechniques ", concluding that the album" doesn’t push boundaries so much as it delineates the contours of Lennox’s comfort zone. "[38]

Accolades

[edit]
Accolades forPanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
Publication Accolade Year Rank
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
22[48]
Readers' Top 50 Albums 2015
19[49]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written byNoah Lennox,except "Davy Jones' Locker" and "Shadow of the Colossus", byPeter Kember

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper– Standard edition[1]
No.TitleLength
1."Sequential Circuits"3:35
2."Mr Noah"4:13
3."Davy Jones' Locker"0:35
4."Crosswords"3:30
5."Butcher Baker Candlestick Maker"3:07
6."Boys Latin"4:12
7."Come to Your Senses"7:23
8."Tropic of Cancer"6:12
9."Shadow of the Colossus"0:17
10."Lonely Wanderer"4:19
11."Principe Real"4:54
12."Selfish Gene"5:05
13."Acid Wash"3:42
Total length:51:10
Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper–iTunes StoreBonus Mr Noah EP edition[50]
No.TitleLength
1."Mr Noah"4:13
2."Faces in the Crowd"4:08
3."Untying the Knot"3:10
4."This Side of Paradise"4:34
Total length:1:07:15

Sample credits

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes ofPanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper.[1]

  • Noah Lennox –JoMoXXbase 999,Yamaha TX81Z,MoogVoyager,ElektronDPS-1, vocals, piano, effects, percussion, production, art direction
  • Rob Carmichael – layout
  • Simon Davey –mastering
  • Joaquim Monte –engineering
  • Hugo Oliveira – interior illustration
  • Marco Papiro – cover illustrations
  • Seen – art direction, layout
  • Pedro Silve – assistant engineering
  • Sonic Boom –EMS Synthi AKS,FenixII Modular, Moog Voyager,vocoder,effects, production, mixing, art direction

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance forPanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (UltratopFlanders)[51] 73
Belgian Albums (UltratopWallonia)[52] 136
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[53] 88
UK Albums(OCC)[54] 49
USBillboard200[55] 34
USIndependent Albums(Billboard)[56] 2
USTop Tastemaker Albums(Billboard)[57] 1
USTop Alternative Albums(Billboard)[58] 3
USTop Rock Albums(Billboard)[59] 4

Release history

[edit]
Release history and formats forPanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
Country Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Germany January 9, 2015
Domino [60][61][62]
France January 12, 2015
  • Digital download
  • CD
  • LP
 [63][64][65]
Japan Digital download [66]
Spain [67]
United Kingdom
  • Digital download
  • CD
 [68][69]
Italy January 13, 2015
  • Digital download
  • CD
  • LP
 [70][71][72]
Spain
  • CD
  • LP
 [73]
United States
  • Digital download
  • CD
  • LP
 [74][75][76]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefPanda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper(Media notes). Panda Bear. Domino Recording Company. 2015.{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^The Guardian
  3. ^Rolling Stone
  4. ^Exposito, Suzy (28 February 2019)."Panda Bear on How Latin Trap Informed His New LP, What's Next for Animal Collective".Rolling Stone.Retrieved24 February2022.
  5. ^Vinyl Mag
  6. ^McGovern, Kyle (January 7, 2015)."Q&A: Panda Bear Doesn't Fear the 'Reaper'".Spin.RetrievedJanuary 12,2015.
  7. ^abBeta, Andy (December 12, 2014)."Panda Bear Chases the 'Psychedelic Sweet Spot' on 'Grim Reaper' LP".Rolling Stone.RetrievedDecember 31,2014.
  8. ^Minsker, Evan (February 22, 2014)."Panda Bear Preps New Album".Pitchfork.RetrievedDecember 31,2014.
  9. ^Fitzmaurice, Larry (October 24, 2014)."Update: Panda Bear".Pitchfork.RetrievedDecember 31,2014.
  10. ^Sherburne, Philip (January 5, 2015)."Q&A: Sonic Boom on Crocodiles, Magnets, and Co-Producing Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper".Pitchfork.RetrievedJanuary 10,2015.
  11. ^abcdJoyce, Colin (January 5, 2015).""Was It Worthwhile?": Panda Bear Profiled ".Boiler Room.RetrievedJanuary 9,2015.
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  23. ^Leight, Elias (February 5, 2015)."Lightning In A Bottle Festival Announces 2015 Lineup".Billboard.RetrievedApril 12,2015.
  24. ^DeVille, Chris (January 21, 2015)."Primavera Sound 2015 Lineup".Stereogum.RetrievedApril 12,2015.
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  29. ^Minsker, Evan (December 15, 2014)."Panda Bear Shares Trippy Animated" Boys Latin "Video".Pitchfork.RetrievedDecember 20,2014.
  30. ^Beauchemin, Molly (March 2, 2015)."Andy Stott Remixes Panda Bear's" Boys Latin "".Pitchfork.RetrievedApril 12,2015.
  31. ^Geslani, Michelle (April 8, 2015)."Panda Bear premieres new video for" Tropic of Cancer ", directed by Avey Tare — watch".Consequence of Sound.RetrievedApril 12,2015.
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