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Person Pitch
by Panda Bear

Panda Bear reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 87 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.2 out of 10
based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 132 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The third solo album from Animal Collective's Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) is completely unlike its predecessor, as it is both upbeat and electronic, sounding like a spacey, 21st century Beach Boys album.

LABEL: Paw Tracks
RELEASE DATE: 20 March 2007
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rock

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Delusions of Adequacy
His careful attention to detail and masterful use of vocal harmonies are unparalleled in modern indie rock.
Read Full Review
100
Observer Music Monthly
Like Animal Collective, Lennox pulls off the trick of being simultaneously poppy and abstract, winsome and deranging.
Read Full Review
100
Urb
An album this undeniably imaginative, consistent and immersive comes as a wonderful surprise and proof that maybe music isn't as lost as it seems. [Apr 2007, p.107]
94
Pitchfork
You can feel the warmth pouring out of the music.
Read Full Review
91
Entertainment Weekly
A lovely, trippy kaleidoscope of sound. [13 Apr 2007, p.74]
91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Sometimes ominous, sometimes celebratory, always compelling, Person Pitch is as clattering and tactile as a beaded curtain.
Read Full Review
90
Sputnikmusic
It’s safe to say that, Person Pitch just might be album of the year (so far, at least).
Read Full Review
90
BBC collective
An album as rich as it is strange.
Read Full Review
90
Tiny Mix Tapes
For an album constructed from so many constituent parts, Person Pitch is amazingly warm and inviting at times, wrapping around the ears, nestling the head, and squeezing like a nice familial bear hug after years of no contact.
Read Full Review
90
Dusted Magazine
In a year that will feature not just a new long-player from Lennox's Animal Collective but also a box set's worth of rare material, it may be hard to surpass the haunting, blissful pageantry of Person Pitch.
Read Full Review
90
Drowned In Sound
It’s all masterful.
Read Full Review
88
Almost Cool
Essentially, Person Pitch is an amazing third album from the young musician, on a par with the best work of the Animal Collective. Striking just the right balance between melody, song, and experimentation, it's one of the best albums of the year so far.
Read Full Review
85
Lost At Sea
The strength of Person Pitch is that it really doesn't matter what label might be affixed to it; quite simply, it is a gorgeous album from beginning to end.
Read Full Review
85
Prefix Magazine
Although it's certainly inventive in approach and execution, there's no denying that Person Pitch sees Lennox working within decidedly pop-centric parameters.
Read Full Review
84
cokemachineglow
Odd, joyous, and wonderful.
Read Full Review
83
Stylus Magazine
It’s easily the gentlest, brightest record to be associated with the Animal Collective.
Read Full Review
80
Uncut
Magical. [Apr 2007, p.114]
80
Paste Magazine
It's as lucid a marriage of the eneffably strange and crayon-bright catchy as 2007 is likely to see. [Apr 2007, p.58]
80
All Music Guide
The sweetness is almost too gooey, and what should be providing a healthy contrast ends up dragging the best instrumental moments down more than once, almost literally getting in the way of the striking sonic collages. It may be heresy to some, but conceivably Person Pitch would be at its best if it were strictly instrumental.
Read Full Review
80
The Guardian
The prevailing mood is one of euphoria - of clouds parting, sun shining and hearts melting.
Read Full Review
80
NOW Magazine
The clever hook is keeping everything fuzzy enough to create a trippy mystique that makes it difficult to pinpoint what's happening or where it's all leading.
Read Full Review
80
Mojo
Immediately and huantingly familiar, it circumvents pastiche courtesy of a mischievous cut'n'paste aesthetic. [Feb 2008, p.108]
80
Q Magazine
As warm, strange and enchantingly off-key as the title suggests. [May 2007, p.127]
80
Dot Music
Panda Bear has created one of the most unusual and beautifully strange statements of the avant-garde.
Read Full Review
80
Under The Radar
The sheer ingenuity with which he illustrates his immaculate tone poem makes Person Pitch as imaginative as any pop album you’ll hear this year. [#17, p.92]
80
Alternative Press
It's the glorious melodies and cavernous, quasi-dub-like production that conspire to make Person Pitch one of the most beguiling, intoxicating releases of 2007 thus far. [May 2007, p.161]
74
ShakingThrough.net
Person Pitch is a paradoxically personal yet expansive work, a set that seems incredibly intimate to Lennox but universally open to a world of possibilities.
Read Full Review
70
Rolling Stone
A marvelous, hazy trip full of Beach Boys-inspired psychedelia.
Read Full Review
70
PopMatters
The most sonically satisfying statement to emerge yet from the Collective.
Read Full Review
60
Spin
Somehow, these constant flourishes enhance, rather than obscure, the disc's plentiful catchy bits, giving Person Pitch a resonant, off-kilter charm. [Apr 2007, p.93]
60
No Ripcord
The beautiful melodies and harmonies don’t actually go anywhere, they just kind of float in and out of earshot, failing to develop or do anything harmonically interesting.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 132 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Daniel J. gave it a2:
This is just too abstract and weird for me. Why this album is in the toplist is for me a true mystery.

Rikky C. gave it a9:
the album is really quite something, very spacey, experimental and unconventional. it transcends common genre-labelling and manages to be truly unique. The first three-and-a-half tracks are absolutely amazing, epic pieces of music, but the end slows down and becomes less interesting (much like 'feels' (and also like every other animal collective album). It's really a great album though, it deserves the praise.

Jyotirmaya D. gave it an8:
I generally don't like albums with the ambient sound going on - especially if it sounds too "new-agey", but this album makes the ambient sound funky and cool. And it needed at least 2 or 3 listens for me to enjoy it... But I initially gave it a chance because I could tell I was listening to something worthwhile.

Cat Q. gave it a7:
Not worth the tens but none the less really good to listen to. Just to chill. It usually bothers me if an artist sounds alot like another one (like the Beach Boys) but I don't really mind the Beach Boys echos in it. In my opinon, don't listen to it in terms of a context, just listen to it as it is.

Derek E. gave it a10:
Seriously breathtaking. If you aren't convinced, give it some time. If you still aren't convinced, something may be wrong with you.

hirachi gave it a4:
I came home from work one day and heard the Beach Boys playing. I asked my roommate in the living room where he got these Smile-era outtakes. He told me it was Panda Bear. We listened to the whole thing and all I could think was BEACH BOYS DEMOS.

Bethany L. gave it a6:
I've tried, I really have, but I just don't get it. I give it an above average based on the forward thinkingness of Noah and the meditative aspects of the album. But it just sounds like the echo effect/reverb is giving it the unity and gorgeousness! everyone speaks of. It isn't bad but I don't get the hype. A bit boring for me.

Read more user comments...

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