Panda Bear plays Variety Playhouse May 10
The Animal Collective co-founder returns supporting ‘A Day with the Homies’
Despite maintaining a steady course for nearly two decades, Noah Lennox, better known as Panda Bear, has never released a dull piece of music. Even when his songs are prohibitively weird or seem lost in some inscrutable logic, Lennox’s sound is fiercely imaginative. His work as a solo artist and with Animal Collective runs the gamut of styles, from sun-damaged Beach Boys harmonies to bleak electronic minimalism. His latest EP, A Day with the Homies, finds a comfortable middle ground between the two extremes, combining distorted drum machines with buoyant vocals. Lead single “Flight” exemplifies this contrast as Lennox sings goofy platitudes such as “Saying to the younger ones/ You’ve got to get the boogie out,” over ominous bass wobbles that hint at the darkness and mystery bubbling underneath his childlike melodies.