Like so many others, I stayed up way too late a few Sundays ago (or maybe way more than a few) when I learned that the new Panda Bear album Tomboy was streaming on NPR before its official release. I listened to the whole thing and I liked it for the most part even though I knew it was going to take some time to get a feel for these tunes since they all seemed to blend together at first. But one song that stood out amidst the latest effort from Noah Lennox even from the first listen as “Alsatian Darn”. The double time guitar rhythm made it instantly one of the most “upbeat” songs on the album, in quotes as it’s still a completely muddled up Panda Bear track. It’s also got some of the more memorable melodies on the album, most notably around the 1 minute mark and then again starting at the 2:45 mark and carrying on through most of the rest of the song. And when the clapping comes in near the 2nd minute, this tune officially becomes one of the biggest on the album. Panda Bear just released a video for this song, but if you’re looking for a storyline then you’ve come to the wrong place, as it’s essentially a swirling, distorted visual kaleidoscopic experiment. Although I can’t say that it’s not entirely out of place within the context of a Panda Bear album. All in all, I’m digging Tomboy and this song is my current favorite, so give it a listen.
