Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: Panda Bear is the nickname/project of psychedelic folk artist Noah Lennox. Lennox has spent more than two decades as a member of critical darling indie folk outfit Animal Collective, but has also been a magnet for acclaim as a solo artist. The peak of that came on his 2007 album Person Pitch , which I and many others consider to be a masterpiece. His last solo album dropped back in 2019 but he's stayed very busy since then with multiple Animal Collective records dropping and a collaborative album with Sonic Boom in 2022. Now he's returning to solo work with Sinister Grift , a surprisingly vulnerable record that sees Noah dealing with the aftermath of his divorce. And it's absolutely stunning.  Sinister Grift led off with the single "Defense" which was pretty notable for being a collaboration with the biggest critical darling of 2024, Cindy Lee. I did enjoy the track, but I didn't realize just how much I liked its catchy lucid psychedelia un...

Animal Collective is a Baltimore-based music project that contains any combination of Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Deakin, and Geologist. Last year, the four returned to all work on a project together for the first time in over a decade with Time Skiffs . The album was met with praise from fans and critics alike and followed up just a year later with the groups 12th studio album. Review by Lav:  I've been a big fan of Animal Collective for a long time despite the fact that during my early development as a music fan they were arguably at their worst. That didn't include solo material where Panda Bear and Deakin in particular dropped music I liked a lot. But as a group the hangover from their 2009 masterpiece Merriweather Post Pavilion  lasted a LONG time. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised to love their new album last year and with all four back in the saddle for yet another release I went into this one pretty hyped too.  A big reason for that is the singles. The album wa...

5.  Gem & I  - Animal Collective This may be the simplest of AnCo's new singles yet. That isn't just due to its composition which certainly arrives more slimmed down than the 21 minute epic they led off their new era with. But even thematically and sonically what you see is what you get with the song. Thankfully, I find the refrains very compelling and the gentle indie folk flourishes are pretty satisfying even on repeat listens.  Listen 4.  Motorbike  - Poppy Right out of the gate, I'll say I know that this song does have a kind of critical flaw, the lyrics. To call this clunky would be an insult to a lot of embarrassing songwriting I've described in those terms in the past. It's unfortunate because this song has a chorus that I find absolutely intoxicating and it's been stuck in my head since the moment I heard it. I also think the track has thematic elements that work really well. The sleek and sensual worship of motorcycle girls is pretty easy to get beh...

5.  Soul Capturer - Animal Collective The "single version" attached to this song feels particularly funny after the band took a big swing on a 21-minute lead single.  This isn't one of those Animal Collective songs that blows me away immediately with some kind of catchy refrains or wild instrumentation. But the longer the track goes on the more its hypnotic loops go to work on me. The watery sounds of Avey Tare's solo music leak into these tracks in a way that wasn't explicitly present on their last project but they manage to make solid use of it. Listen 4.  HEALMODE  - Jeff Rosenstock This is a song I've gone back and forth on a LOT. There are elements of its amateurish nature with the imperfect vocals and simple instrumentation that were grating right out of the gate. But the more I sat with the song and dug into its vivid lyrical details I started to develop a connection with it. Ultimately I've started to like the song quite a bit and Jeff Rosenstock i...

We're officially in the second half of 2023 and the singles chart is off to a GREAT start. 5.  DOUBT - Jeff Rosenstock Fittingly, Jeff Rosenstock left no doubt with his second single. The awesome two-part single shows off Jeff at his most sentimental on the more emotional first half before erupting into an explosion of punky angst in the second half. All along the way the track is full of great refrains and even better vocals from Jeff.  Listen 4.  Defeat  - Animal Collective AnCo delivered a whopper of a new single completely out of nowhere. The new track treats fans to a number of highly distinct segments across more than 21 minutes of music. While I couldn't possibly have listened to it enough times to remember the whole thing just this week, I did listen to it an embarrassing number of times. A full breakdown of the track isn't for this forum but I'll say that while every single moment isn't perfectly essential there are some absolutely wonderful passages.  ...

Avey Tare is the pseudonym of David Michael Portner who has long served as a member of psych-pop and folk band Animal Collective. Since their massively acclaimed 2009 album Meriweather Post Pavilion  Animal Collective has struggled to match that level of critical success, while Avey Tare released four solo albums in the mean time. Last year the band released their most acclaimed album in over a decade in a year that also included acclaimed music highlights for other members like Panda Bear and Geologist. Now Avey is taking his turn with his fifth overall solo album. Review by Lav: I said that 2022 was the year of Animal Collective a lot, at least in indie music. Most of that was due to just how much I enjoyed their album Time Skiffs , but I also enjoyed pretty much anything the various members did on their own. That, combined with a very solid lead single is why I was so excited for this album, hoping that Avey could continue a period of high potential for everyone around the Anima...

While the singles list is burdened with rules about one song per artist and the insistence on taking every single element of a song from a cultural and promotional standpoint into consideration, the songs list has none of that. This is just the best songs from every single album, mixtape, and EP I heard this year. Anymore context than that is unnecessary, enjoy. <3 100. More Pressure  - Kae Tempest (feat. Kevin Abstract) I fell foolishly in love with this song early in the year and while I was ultimately disappointed by what Kevin Abstract brought to the final two Brockhampton projects, he makes a great contribution here. On top of that Kae's mind-bending lyricism is as compelling and mystifying as ever, not to mention catchy as the refrains throughout have stuck with me all year. Key Lyric: "Less instruction, more comprehension" 99. So Much More  - Conway The Machine This year Conway made a statement with a record that not only elevated him from much of his previous w...