Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper

Background and development

Having recorded his bleaker previous album Tomboy (2011) in a basement, Panda Bear wanted to go into the opposite direction on Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, aiming for a more "lively" and "busy" sound. He began working on the album while working on Animal Collective's Centipede Hz (2012) in Texas. Sonic Boom, who mixed and mastered Panda Bear's previous album Tomboy, co-produced the album. The two spent two weeks in November 2013 refining demo recordings Panda Bear had made at home and spent five weeks, beginning in January 2014, finishing the album. Sonic Boom mixed the album on the Balearic island of Minorca. About the album title, Panda Bear said "It’s about presenting something that we don’t have an easy time dealing with in a costume that’s just a little bit more clown-y." It was also inspired by the titles of 1970s dub collaboration albums such as Augustus Pablo Meets Lee Perry and the Wailers Band and King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown.

Composition

The lyrical themes of the album center around personal growth, although Panda Bear wanted to discuss issues on a larger scale because he wanted to avoid "self-obsession or narcissism". The drum programming on Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper was influenced by 1990s hip-hop. Specifically, Panda Bear cited Dust Brothers, Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, and J Dilla as influences.

The opening track, "Sequential Circuits" is a neo-psychedelia song, which was described as "swirling" and "a[s] pure as a babbling brook". "Tropic of Cancer" contains a harp sample from the The Nutcracker suite and its lyrics concern the death of Panda Bear's father. His vocal harmonies on the song were compared to those of The Beach Boys.

Release and promotion

In March 2014, Panda Bear announced a North American tour for May during which he would be performing tracks from the new album. From July through September, he toured Europe and North America. On January 11, 2015, Panda Bear played a Boiler Room set at MoMA PS1. Three days later, he performed "Boys Latin" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Panda Bear toured his show throughout Europe in March 2015. He performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12 and 19 and gave seven more North American performances across April and early May. Panda Bear performed at festivals for the rest of May and mid-June, including Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta, Lightning in a Bottle Festival in Bradley, California, Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona and Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago.

Panda Bear released a mixtape called PB vs. GR on September 11, 2014. On October 23, Panda Bear released the EP Mr Noah and made Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper available for pre-order. That day also saw the release of the album's first single, "Mr Noah", and a music video directed by AB/CD/CD. A teaser video for the album, directed by Danny Perez, was released on October 29. The second single, "Boys Latin", was released on December 15, and was accompanied by a music video directed by Isaiah Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch. The music video had its premiere on Adult Swim. A "Boys Latin" remix by Andy Stott was released on March 2, 2015. A music video for the track "Tropic of Cancer" was directed by fellow Animal Collective member Dave Portner and released on April 8.

On January 4, 2015, Panda Bear began his global radio campaign to premiere nine new tracks from the album. Various radio stations from around the world each premiered different tracks. Two days later, he launched an interactive website including music by him and Sonic Boom, videos by Danny Perez, as well as graphics by Marco Papiro, Patakk, and Hugo Oliveira. A short documentary detailing the creation, Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, directed by Sam Fleischner, was released on January 29.

Critical reception

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper was praised by contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 34 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Robin Murray of Clash complimented Panda Bear's use of his "perfect" tenor on "Mr Noah". Writing for Consequence of Sound, Adam Kivel lauded the "multivalent" production of the album but criticized Panda Bear's choice not to deviate from his signature sound. Matthew Ritchie of Exclaim! commended Panda Bear's lyrics and "expansive and deeply resonating melodies" that were presented on the album. Writing for NOW, Samantha Edwards praised Panda Bear's vocals and their diversity throughout the album. Jake Kennedy of Record Collector appreciated Panda Bear's ability to experiment.

Track listing

All tracks written by Noah Lennox, except "Davy Jones' Locker" and "Shadow of the Colossus", by Peter Kember.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper.