The crying puppies in Panda Bear’s fifth studio album are disturbing.
It’s a mistake to listen to Noah Lennox’s Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper at 3 in the morning.
Released in 2015, the fifth studio album of Lenox (aka Panda Bear) is both colorful and painful, atmospheric but nightmarish.
Here, the beats groove, the riffs glide, and the vocals rock and roll. But layered beneath the synthesized bass and ambient vocals are daunting sounds you don’t want to hear at night: grinding dental drills, squealing puppies, and fluctuating static noise.
The musicality of the album is painting for the ears — an experiment, an abstract — but it isn’t made for all.
Each track wants to snatch the peace out of anyone who dares to listen. It’s, without a doubt, agonizing. Some of us won’t comprehend it. But that’s the point.
In Selfish Gene, one of the 13 songs featured in the album, Panda Bear showcased his prominent style-a combination of hip hop and techno with his vocals drowned in reverb. While in Mr Noah, you will hear disturbing noises from someone who could be very close to your heart. Listen cautiously. You’ve been warned.
Nonetheless, Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper is a symphony that makes you grind your teeth, harder and harder each time a new track plays. Iridescence may not flash before our eyes, but that depends when we’re done gnawing all our teeth away.
Verdict: Listening to this album at 3 AM is a mistake. But some mistakes are worth doing anyway. Best with cigarette and beer.
Originally published at https://www.getrevue.co on February 20, 2021.
