Sinister Grift is Panda Bear’s first album since his 2022 Reset collaboration with Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom. Anyone anticipating any lasting influence from working with Rugby’s premier psychedelic adventurer, however, is going to be sorely disappointed.
Noah Lennox’s first solo album in five years comes on more like a collection of demo tracks and out-takes from a Smiley Smile-era Beach Boys than anything that implies that Animal Collective’s leading light has been taking the perfect prescription of drugs to make music to take drugs to. Sure, there are laidback but gently hip-swinging tunes like “50mg” and lead single “Ferry Lady”. There is the woozy and spaced-out psychedelia of the sparse “Left in the Cold” and the trippy freak folk vibes of “Elergy for Noah Lou”. However, most of the tunes on Sinister Grift are pretty much groove free with the vocals frequently all but drowning out any accompanying instruments.
It’s not as though Lennox has been slaving away in the studio on his own like a mad professor either. Animal Collective bandmate, Josh “Deakin” Dibb was on hand to co-produce, while Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede, Women’s Cindy Lee and the other members of his main ensemble have all been involved here and there. Yet, none of this has been enough to prevent Sinister Grift from being an oddly unengaging collection that frequently swings from the self-indulgent to the plodding and unmemorable.
This is a shame, as more tunes like “50mg” and “Ferry Lady” might have made for a disc that would have had listeners eagerly anticipating the summery months that seem a long way away now but will be here before too long. Nevertheless, Sinister Grift may satisfy some of Panda Bear’s and Animal Collective’s long-time fans but ultimately, it’s really no more than a psychedelic curiosity that’s unlikely to wear anyone’s stylus down with repeated playing.
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