“The last three records felt like a chapter to me, and this feels like the beginning of something new. It feels like I’m turning the page a little.” Noah Lennox’s sixth Panda Bear album sees the return of former collaborator Rusty Santos, who mixed Lennox’s Young Prayer and Person Pitch albums before a fruitful streak engineering sessions for DJ Rashad and the Teklife crew (side note: in addition to Domino being our downstairs neighbors, Santos’ studio used to be in the basement of the nearby deli we all get our coffee from). The pair’s mutual fondness for 808 and deep sub bass propels the album, along with a liberal use of autotune, which allowed Panda to nail his trademark syrupy vocal parts in fewer takes: “it gave this texture and thickness to my voice that I was otherwise using reverb or doubling to get.” Playful opening track “Dolphin” calls up everything we loved about Panda's last few records right off the top; the bleeps and bloops of PBMTGR, the placid acoustic strumming of Young Prayer, the adventurousness of Tomboy and the world-class hookiness of Person Pitch. This stripped down sound palette allows Lennox to veer into new territories, like cyborg country ballad "Cranked" or the drunken blues of "Inner Monologue." Also check "Token," "Buoys" and "Home Free." Indie exclusive red marble colored pressing, housed in Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket (first pressing only) with download code and giant double-sided poster, recommended.

• red marble colored vinyl pressing
• includes double-sided foldout poster
• indie exclusive
• housed in Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket (first pressing only)
• digital download included
• music label: Domino 2019

reviewed by tom violence 11/2018