Person Pitch

They still haven't rescued the Animal Collective guy from the bottom of a well? Not an AnCo fan but this was fine. Too muddy and the long songs get a bit too repetitive, but I liked when it sounded like Beach Boys on even more drugs.

It's not because this experimental solo endeavour by an Animal Collective member was clearly overrated by Pitchfork and the likes at the time of its release that it's not worth a visit by fans of the band, or even general audience members unafraid of trippy soundscapes and off-kilter musical adventures. You must already be in love with the idea of repetition in music to appreciate Panda Bear's *Person Pitch*, sure. But if you are and it's summer, make yourself comfortable, lie on a field of grass under the sun -- or in a chaise longue next to a swimming pool -- spin this record in your headphones, and there are chances that the whole thing will feel like you've just had a massive intake of hemp or psychedelic drugs. This music nicely evokes a transmission from an alternate dreamworld, as if the sixties had never ended, and had harnessed unknown technologies to make a new generation of Beach Boys fans rejoice. With its distinctive vocal harmonies and hazy instrumental tones, *Person Pitch* comes off like a fever dream Brian Wilson once had. Given how fragile his mental state often was, maybe he *did* hear something like that from time to time... This fever dream can also be paranoia-inducing -- some of the lyrics are indeed surprisingly aggressive towards some unidentified third parties, which adds to the overall uncanny mood of the album. You know reefers can relax you, but they can also make you paranoid, right? As said earlier, the hypnotic, repetitive nature of the music, along with the echoey treatment on both the elated vocal harmonies and an instrumentation whose nature is difficult to pinpoint might rub some listeners the wrong way "Bros", the long driven centerpiece of the LP, exemplifies this best. Is this music analog? Is it digital? Are those hectic guitar strums and percussions real instruments or a computerized recreation? And why does this thing run for so long? The answer to this last question lies in the fact that repetition in music would be nothing without subtle variations. And there are tons of them in this fantastic track (just as there are some to be found in the two previous shorter cuts "Comfy In Nautica" and "Take Pills"). You just need to know how to catch them... Is each and every experimental composition in the album up to that level? Nope. "I'm Not" is a cinematic ambient cut that feels very poetic and evocative, and the first part of "Carrots" in the double feature "Good Girls / Carrots" is yet another tight and driven instance of that Brian Wilson-sort-of-artistry going fully bonkers. But the abrasive start of that other long double-track ("Good Girl") feels a bit gratuitously grating, and the lack of build-up in its conclusion is conversely a little underwhelming. As for the last two cuts, "Searching For Delicious" is another ambient piece that feels too indecisive this time around, and closer "Ponytail" sounds more like a two-minute afterthought than a song proper. One last question: has Panda Bear been more accessible as a solo artist since the release of *Person Pitch*? He has been, yes, in later album *Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper*, and also for his collabs with Sonic Boom (the latest of which was out in early July 2026). Not to mention that iconic collaboration with Daft Punk for the best song of their *Random Access Memory* album, named "Doin' It Right"... And of course, there's the whole rich discography of Animal Collective to explore... But as the saying goes, kiddies, all of that will be a story for another day... Time for me to end this review and dive into that swimming pool. Yep, for real. And this one ain't so crowded. 😉 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for the musicianship and production values + 3.5 for the artistry) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 117 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 120 (including this one) Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 270 ---- Émile, *quatre* nouveaux messages pour toi au dessus, du *Solid State Survivor* de Yellow Magic Orchestra au *Atrocity Exhibition* de Danny Brown

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Comfy in nautica, Bros

Püre tünes. This album sounds a lot like if someone was playing the beach boys in the other room. Your enjoyment will really depend on how much the sound of the beach boys from quite a ways away appeals to you

Although I think Avey Tare's more manic tendencies have their place, especially in contrast to Panda Bear's more serene approach, this is the album where I realized what I really like about Animal Collective is mostly coming from Panda Bear.

Well, I was going to make a Beach Boys comparison but apparently that ground is well-trod... I really enjoyed this listen. Glad someone is carrying on in this tradition.

Ambient belonged somewhere on the genre list for this in the Wiki article. It strangely put me in mind of Beach Boys under Brian Wilson's avant-influence, but stripped of all the intricate orchestration. Which is a neat trick, and I liked this, but it did run into the problem I often have with this kind of thing of slipping into a not-unpleasant but vague background accompaniment of whatever I'm doing.

It was ok. Unremarkable.

Some far out animal collective type voodoo

Interesting

I like how another comment said if they rescued the singer from the bottom of a well. The entire album feels like I'm listening to it through a wall or at the end of a big hall and it's just muffled to understand. I don't get it. I think overall its fine but kinda dull. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No

Kiinnostavia saundeja, mutta vähän kaipais enemmän särmää.

Slightly better indie nonsense

Usually one for Panda Bear’s eclectic outings, but this one left me wanting. The LP feels much more homogeneous than Lennox’s other releases – the synth voices are the same throughout, there’s not much melodic differentiation, and everything sits at about the same tempo. Some fun tracks here and there, but the lack of differentiation + softer, more melancholic bent means this one feels a bit disappointing. Still, I appreciate the work this addition is doing for 2010s indie representation here – would love to see more albums from this era on the list.

A good share based on being an influential album. But not an enjoyable one, I have to say. Like trying to tune into the Beach Boys channel on AM radio but not quite being able to get it.

I mean... I have absolutely zero recollection of having listened to this. I did, but I can't remember it.

Psychedelic pop, avant-pop, sampledelia, experimental pop, post-rock. No me gustan los ritmos que se rompen. Un 2.

Initially I thought it was a mix between the Besch Boys and the Fleet Foxes but then it went off in a tangent and I wasn’t prepared to follow

Gives fleet foxes. 1