Panda Bear has announced his first album in five years. The follow-up to Buoys is titled Sinister Grift, and it lands on February 28 via Domino. Today, the Animal Collective member has shared ‘Defense’, a collaboration with Cindy Lee. Check it out below and scroll down for the album’s cover art, tracklist, and Panda Bear’s upcoming tour dates.
Panda Bear, aka Noah Lennox, made the new record at his Estudio Campo in Lisbon, Portugal, and co-produced it with his Animal Collective bandmate Josh “Deakin” Dibb. In addition to Cindy Lee, the album features Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede.
“Working on this record felt like a sacred and warm return,” Deakin said in a statement. “Noah and I first started putting music down to multitrack cassette in 1991. 32 years later and working in the same fashion, two friends alone in a room searching for sounds and feelings that move us, I am very proud of what we created together. Sinister Grift feels like the songwriter I’ve known for over 30 years but also feels like some sort of new chapter for Noah. Couldn’t be more proud of the result.”
The press release also includes quotes from artists who have already heard the LP. “On Sinister Grift, Panda Bear cuts a lone figure, bracing himself against the winds of fortune and calamity,” Jessica Pratt said. “Noah’s pure and poignant lamentations are less elusive this time around, as though our narrator has awoken from a sobering dream. Singing a familiar round on an imperiled path, Panda Bear presents a set of torch songs conveying hard-fought wisdom, buoyant despite the load they bear.”
Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin called Sinister Grift “a classic rock dream that ebbs beautifully into a little bit of a nightmare.”
In 2022, Panda Bear released the collaborative LP Reset with Sonic Boom, which was then expanded with Reset in Dub and Reset Mariachi.
Sinister Grift Cover Artwork:
Sinister Grift Tracklist:
1. Praise
2. Anywhere But Here
3. 50mg
4. Ends Meet
5. Just As Well
6. Ferry Lady
7. Venom’s In
8. Left in the Cold
9. Elegy for Noah Lou
10. Defense
Panda Bear 2024/2025 Tour Dates:
Dec 4 – Salão Brazil – Coimbra, PT
Dec 5 – Radar – Vigo, ES
Dec 6 – El Desierto – Valladolid, ES
Dec 7 – Plano B – Porto, PT
Dec 8 – ZDB – Lisboa, PT
Dec 10 – Lexington – London, UK
Dec 11 – Lark – Berlin, DE
Dec 13 – Le Hasard Ludique – Paris, FR
Feb 6 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN *
Feb 7 – The Salt Shed – Chicago, IL *
Feb 8 – Royal Oak Music Hall – Detroit, MI *
Feb 10 – The Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON *
Feb 11 – MTELUS – Montreal, QC *
Feb 12 – Roadrunner – Boston, MA *
Feb 14 – Terminal 5 – New York City, NY *
Feb 15 – Franklin Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA *
Feb 16 – 9 -30 Club – Washington, DC *
Feb 19 – The Ritz – Raleigh, NC *
Feb 20 – Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN *
Feb 21 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA *
Mar 20 – Capitólio – Lisboa, PT
Mar 21 – Theatro Circo – Braga, PT
Mar 22 – Almacenes – Oviedo, ES
Mar 23 – Kafe Antzokia – Bilbao, ES
Mar 25 – Paral·lel 62 – Barcelona, ES
Mar 26 – 16 Toneladas – Valencia, ES
Mar 27 – La Sala – Madrid, ES
Mar 28 – Teatro das Figuras – Faro, PT
May 08 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ *
May 12 – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater – Austin, TX *
May 13 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX *
May 14 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX *
May 16 – The Fillmore – Denver, CO *
May 19 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA
May 21 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR
May 22 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
May 23 – Hollywood Theatre – Vancouver, BC
* with Toro y Moi