Animal Collective Feels

On Sinister Grift, Panda Bear’s first solo album in five years, Noah Lennox has returned with another statement that feels equally cumulative and unprecedented in his catalog. While his solo records have ranged from starkly intimate expressions of grief to colorful, electronic opuses, his music has never before sounded so warm and immediate. Working in his Lisbon, Portugal home studio with Animal Collective bandmate Josh “Deakin” Dibb, Lennox transforms Panda Bear into something resembling an old-school rock ensemble, playing nearly all the instruments himself and inviting kindred spirits into the process such as Cindy Lee, Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede, and - for the first time on a Panda Bear solo album - each of his Animal Collective bandmates.

Panda Bear released the vinyl-only A Day With The Homies EP at the top of this year, but he hasn’t shared a proper full-length statement since Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper way back in January of 2015. That’s about to change. Noah Lennox’s next LP is balled Buoys, and it’s out in February on Domino. Judging by the sound of lead single “Dolphin” — which Panda’s been airing out on tour lately, as is Animal Collective’s custom — it will be worth the wait.