OK, maybe I just don t like this kind of music... - Wow...first, let me say, don t get me wrong here. I typically go for offbeat (to employ a broad and vague cliche) gems. I am a great admirer of The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson s musical era (influences which seem to surface in this music), and several different forms of jazz and other experimental music. My point is, I don t shy away from abstraction and adventurousness in music...in fact, I crave it. So, I d heard one of Panda Bear s cuts on LA s Metropolis music show (on their NPR affiliate), and was impressed. It seemed very Wilson-inspired, and was airy yet approachable. So, I figured I d give Mr. Bear a shot. The cut must not be off this album. What starts out as a haunting, melodic yet dislocated strumming of a guitar overlayed with transcendent vocals on the first track is a welcome and curious introducion to Young Prayer.The mood, however, quickly overstays its welcome. The same trick is pulled for the first few tracks on the disc, rapidly devolving into what sounds like a junior beginner experimenting with weird chords on his new guitar before he dubs a thin and meandering falsetto over the recording. He just overdoes the dreamy, effervescent guitar strumming here. Eventually, to this listener, this effect comes off as pretentious, and, dare I say, gratingly obnoxious. For 15 bucks (unfortunately the CD store I purchased this at had no listening station...this is what I get for taking a chance), Panda Bear loses my sympathy a third of the way into the album, striking me as an indie hipster allowed a little too much time in front of the mike. The sad thing about Young Prayer is, there really are moments -- moments -- of inspiration interwoven throughout this little opus. Unfortunately, they are gone as quickly as they appeared. Disappointing also is Panda Bear s seeming complete lack of production sense. I am a musician and songwriter (not that that qualifies me in any special way, but maybe it gives me some perspective), and in my opinion, SOOOOOO MUCH could have been done with these pieces...while RETAINING the etherium he was going for, and without compromising the wandering sensibility of the album.I wasn t a huge fan of ANIMAL COLLECTIVE s Feels, either. I was simply annoyed by the misplaced potential in what seemed to me an experiment in listless chill. Though this type of music is not without its place, you d hope a musician s breakout solo effort would distinguish him somehow.Not so. All we get is a missed oppurtuniy. It s too bad, too, because somewhere inside Panda Bear is something truly magical. Buy used.D.D.
Not what you d expect.... - ...which shouldn t be surprising coming from the frontman of a band that consistently defies expectation. And yet it is surprising in the worst way possible--instead of an initial interest and exhilaration, the first time listening to Panda Bear s solo effort is...well...underwhelming. Yet, true to form, the music of this unique talent grows on you, expands inside of you, and eventually wins your respect if, of course, you can stomach a steep (and lengthy) learning curve.Sung Tongs and Feels are throbbing mashes of pure musical joy...Young Prayer is a whisper in comparison. If Animal Collective is like musically making love, Young Prayer is the afterglow.
introspective album from Animal Collective member - The first time that I listened to Young Prayer, I felt a bit underwhelmed. I d gotten so used to anything related to the Animal Collective being so off-the-wall that the directness of this short 10-track release took awhile to sink in. Although there are tracks on the release that are a bit more layered, it s easily the most intimate and stripped-down thing that member of the Animal Collective have been involved in.Probably the closest reference point to this release is the Campfire Songs effort that the group put out on the Catsupplate Record label a couple years back. Young Prayer breaths even more than that disc, though, as it most often finds Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) with just himself and an acoustic guitar (and some effects). Written to reflect upon the death of his father, the 10 tracks are given no names and even the vocals are nearly completely indiscernable. In freeing itself of all of the above trappings, the release opens itself up into an almost ritualistic territory.The opening track finds Lennox singing higher and higher over strummed bursts of guitars that glint with a touch of electronics for punctuation at times while the third track is a short and lovely pairing of deft guitar and piano that feels too short at only a minute long. The centerpoint of the album also finds it at its most upbeat as looped vocal phrases move in a round while clapping and a 4/4 thump keep the track folding in on itself.As mentioned above, the release is very sparse, but it most often works in favor. In the sixth track, soft vocals and guitars drift in and out as a drum kit is flirted with and subtle electronics float to the surface once as a lovely surprise. Although there is a good amount of variety on the release, it does drag a smidge in places. The five-plus minute high vocals/strummed guitar fourth track sounds similar to many other tracks on the release, but fails to really move in any different directions. If you re a fan of work by the Animal Collective, you ll probably want to check this out, but keep in mind that you ll need a little patience. Fans of experimental/improv folk should also hunt it down. (from almost cool music reviews)
The Album Title Says It All - Panda Bear s Young Prayer is, to my mind, a perfect album, in that it does exactly what it sets out to do as a musical work. How can I make such an allegation? Although I can t profess to somehow know the precise effect that the artist was aiming for, I would refer skeptics to the album s title, which, in this case, serves as an excellent expression of the music s intent. Let me explain a little more clearly.Listening to these 9 untitled tracks as one cohesive whole has an overwhelming effect on both my senses and consciousness. The music is simply so powerful and beautiful that I have felt it necessary to listen to it only under ideal circumstances, usually with headphones, so that every sonic detail can be picked up and fully appreciated. I would advise potential listeners to do the same, either waiting for or setting up situations conducive to relaxation and reflection, without interruptions. Then, open yourself up and allow this entrancing elegy to be poured into you.Each track follows a succession that, when considered, seems to be the one necessary arrangement. For instance, although almost none of the vocals consist of understandable lyrics, one can hear Panda Bear at the end of track 1 proclaiming ...this is how I will speak to you... and ...this is how you will know me. This acts as a perfect lead-in to the rest of the album as a whole. Most tracks are heavily-strummed, lovely, pensive wanderings, but a few stray from this prototype, most notably 5 and 7. The former is a playful, pounding chant, and the latter is a slow, mournful lament with highly-processed vocals. The emotions evoked by each of these miniatures are intense but very difficult to pinpoint. My personal listening experience tends to make me feel completely immersed in my surroundings, contemplative, melancholic and elated (often at the same time!), and extremely nostalgic. This is where the title comes in: this music is simply bursting at the seams with all the joy and the pain, all the wonder and the fear of childhood. In its unabashed youthfulness, it yearns for the soothing presence of a wise and trusted adult, but in the end, it assumes that roll as well. It is the arc of learning to accept something. I will never let this music go.
Beauty, Pain, Loss...all recorded with Grace. - We can all relate to the loss of a loved one. Some of us have lost great-grandmothers, cousins twice-removed, or other folks that we didn t know well enough to cause serious mourning. Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear) is another story. He lost his father, and as an emotional response to this he recorded Young Prayer. Now, you can choose to seperate the record from its overwhelming context, but I choose not to. That s like trying to take the South out of Faulkner s The Sound and the Fury. So listening to Young Prayer as a man s catharsis and healing place is absolutely essential to the experience itself.The record consists of eight tracks, all unnamed, which makes it much easier to absorb if you can sit and listen all the way through (which isn t that hard...it s under 30 minutes long, all total). The arrangements are sparse, with guitar, vocals, and selected other instruments taking up the bulk of the album. The lyrics are mostly unintelligable, but what you do feel is how much his father meant to Noah. This is a record that can be emotionally draining if you re not in the right frame of mind. Ultimitely, however, it serves as a guidepost along the way to those in mourning. In the liner sleeve, Panda Bear dedicates it simply, beautifully, This is for my father. Goodbye, dad. I hope you are good where you are. Thanks to Panda Bear, we re all a little better off, too.