It’s an extended family affair on Panda Bear’s – aka Noah Lennox – latest single, “Ends Meet”, with his Animal Collective bandmates Avey Tare and Geologist joining in on the psych-pop delirium. But that’s not where the carnival ends – he’s also invited Maria Reis and Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede to add their distinctive voices to his travelling musical cavalcade. The song itself is one of his most accessible, a breezy pop curiosity that lingers in your ears just long enough to bewitch your senses.
It features the usual cadre of eccentric musical touches: elongated psych pop melodies, vocals that sound as if they were recorded somewhere in one of the shallower parts of the Pacific Ocean, an affection for recreating Pet Sounds via spontaneous osmosis. This is Panda Bear we’re talking about after all, but the song isn’t defined by the peculiarities of its creation. Rather, it relies on our awareness of what we’re getting into and then upending those expectations. The aqueous nature of Lennox’s production is still as fluid as ever, but it feels far more laidback and easygoing on “Ends Meet”, despite the lyrical gloom that pervades the track.
Listen below.
Sinister Grift is due out Feb 28 via Domino. You can pre-order the album here. Follow him on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
