Neverending Mixtape #5

Panda Bear - "Bro's"

Free download here.

For any reader unfamiliar with the name "Panda Bear" (a.k.a Noah Lennox), here's the short story: he founded Animal Collective with Avey Tare (Dave Porter) and serves as said band's drummer, vocalist, etc. For those of you familiar with Panda Bear, you may recall 2004's Young Prayer - a eulogy of sorts for his, then, recently departed father. That album worked well for what it was: a hushed lament for a lost parent. "Bro's" is the joyous flipside to Young Prayer and easily ranks as one of his greatest recorded accomplishments (AC output included). Melodically and structurally, "Bro's" sounds like classic pop (i.e. Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Beach Boys, etc.), but its production creates the feeling that the song is being transmitted from deep space or an underwater trench. Yes, that is a terribly trite statement, but listen to this song and find me a better analogy. To my ears, Noah's voice sounds very reminiscent of a young Paul Simon. His vocals, buried a bit in the mix, yearn passionately over the careening melody and galloping percussion. At 12 and a half minutes, the track does get a bit epic, but it rushes by with such celebratory glee that it hardly feels its actual length.

The above link is for a free download of an edited 5 minute version of "Bro's."