PANDA BEAR
Young
prayer
CD/LP, Paw Tracks
The “hype” around Animal Collective is still warmly
breathing, or let’s rather call it the mild breeze in the water glass that
is oddly shaped avantgarde folk pop that arose after the re-release of “spirit they’re gone spirit
they’ve vanished / Danse Manatee” on Fat Cat about a year ago
and was set forth on the glorious “Sung Tongs” album in the beginning of this
year. But, as collectives would, the Animal Collective is made up of people
and proofing that, yes, the whole is more than the sum of its part, but also
yes, the parts can amount to a lot themselves as well at times, the
individual members are well busy doing music / art besides the Animal
Collective (I take the chance to point you to the great split-album by Avey Tare
with David Grubbs also on Fat Cat and released late last year).
Panda Bear has taken time off to produce his version of
spiritual music. The info sheet names the death of his father as one point
for lifting off into a more transcendental and otherworldly direction and
the truly meditative character of some parts of this record, with long
wailing and whining vocal parts somewhere between the chants of Indian
medicinemen or Buddhist monks point heavily at a deeply religious
connotation. Of course, the name of the record gives it away: “Young
prayer”. Panda Bear’s view of religion – and finally all religion is
about giving some relief about death and meaning to live in one way or
another – is more profound and deeper or even global than to be shackled
to any one religion alone.
Don’t be put off by the whining and moaning, the
screeching sounds in the back and the chaotic, erratic strumming during some
parts when skipping through this CD in the listening stations of your
favourite record store, because first: skipping through a record is an
abominable act, especially with the music mentioned within these pages.
Music is an art form evolving in time, living and breathing on seconds and
minutes floating by and the listener offering his time to the art as his
(humble and meagre) contribution. If you are listening to some dance
compilation, house 12”es or Top40 albums, looking for that one beat or one
super-hit, then go ahead. Right now. Don’t even bother to read on. And
secondly, Panda Bear does take his time. There is a lot that might sound
strange or weird on “Young Prayer”, but that is one great thing about
it. Also the emotions that are involved in praying, in religion, in giving
your soul or fate over to some system of belief are deeply moving and
therefore need a lot of time. So don’t you hurry, for your own good.
Percussive chants in chorus during about the middle of
the piece – and it actually is one big composition even if the CD player
says nine tracks since the parts flow into one another freely and fittingly
– sound like orchestrated night fire evocations of the gods. Then again it
is Panda Bear alone getting lost in some chords on his acoustic guitar,
whining in a high pitched voice in a hallucinatory almost spaced out way,
spewing the heart, soul and emotions out onto the tape to make the light of
wisdom break through. Then the echoes on and around the music hint at
gigantic domes and cathedrals either in cities or caves, for there is a dark
and solemn atmosphere revolving around the music that is never lifted.
