after hearing all the hype about this album I ran out and decided I had to give it a listen. Honestly, Im not enjoying it as much as I wish I was. Hopefully it will grow on me like the highly regarded "funeral" by arcade fire did.

lets hear your opinions.

I'm with you. I've never been a huge fan of Animal Collective, but I heard "Person Pitch is really good, even if you're not an AC fan!" So, I gave it a listen, and it was the same sort of stuff... really, really boring, meandering and weird.

I'll say it's a little more accessible than an Animal Collective release, but I guess I don't see what the big fuss is about. It just sounds like a stoner version of the Beach Boys. maybe if I was a bigger Beach Boys fan, I might be more into it, but as it stands...not really.

I adore this record. The vocal harmonies are gorgeous, especially with the heavy reverb that sends the tones flying into one another. Beyond the pop side of things, Panda Bear adds some interesting, intentionally murky found sounds beneath the tunes. The pacing of the record is done extremely well considering it is basically just a collection of singles. One of my favorites of 2007 so far.

quote:

Originally posted by ericg75:
I'll say it's a little more accessible than an Animal Collective release, but I guess I don't see what the big fuss is about. It just sounds like a stoner version of the Beach Boys. maybe if I was a bigger Beach Boys fan, I might be more into it, but as it stands...not really.

I love the Beach Boys, but I have no idea how songs like "Sloop John B", "Don't Worry Baby", and for that matter "Surfin USA" have to do with twelve-minute songs that kind of sound like "yaoooooooaaaaaooooooooo (plink plink plink)"

I just don't understand why some reviewers are getting orgasmic because "this is an indie album featuring melody and harmonies!!!!" That, for one, is debatable, but to me, indie rock, more than any other genre, thrives on these qualities. Maybe I'm wrong, but the indie bands that I love are great because so many of their songs feature great melodies, rather than musicians wanking for the sake of it or a catchy backbeat. As for the singers harmonizing... is it really that hard to find indie bands that do this? I'll even take A Band of Bees over this stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Chamberk:

quote:

Originally posted by ericg75:
I'll say it's a little more accessible than an Animal Collective release, but I guess I don't see what the big fuss is about. It just sounds like a stoner version of the Beach Boys. maybe if I was a bigger Beach Boys fan, I might be more into it, but as it stands...not really.

I love the Beach Boys, but I have no idea how songs like "Sloop John B", "Don't Worry Baby", and for that matter "Surfin USA" have to do with twelve-minute songs that kind of sound like "yaoooooooaaaaaooooooooo (plink plink plink)"

Yeah, the Beach Boys comparison is just a lazy throwaway because of the presence of vocal harmony and reverb. Remember when everyone was throwing out the same Beach Boys reference for "Who Could Win A Rabbit?"

Beach Boys influence or no, the record still succeeds admirably in blending pop melodicism with music concrete sampling. I read an interview which stated 90% of the record is samples. One of the biggest factors that has kept me coming back to Person Pitch over the last couple weeks has been the submerged sounds that one unearths on every listen. Just try to identify all the murky meanderings present under the "freakout" section of Bros.

maybe if i listen to this cd while looking at my empty wallet, where 10$ used to be, perhaps that will invoke some sort of revelation

quote:

maybe if i listen to this cd while looking at my empty wallet, where 10$ used to be, perhaps that will invoke some sort of revelation

Lucky for me, I just billed it to my itunes account. Out of sight out of mind. Let's just hope that the next time the wife sits down with the checkbook she doesn't ask "are you enjoying that Panda Bear album you downloaded?" Oh, if I've succeeded in putting it out of my memory by then, the tears might just start rolling.

yeah, I think I may have missed the hype on this one. I listened through it once and, while definitely interesting, I don't understand the fawning over this album has received in some corners.

I'll give it some more spins...but I can't promise I'll love it

oddly enough, i found "comfy and nautica" stuck in my head, not realizing it was from the album I had been previously bashing until I decided to give the album another listen...

crazy stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Chamberk:

I love the Beach Boys, but I have no idea how songs like "Sloop John B", "Don't Worry Baby", and for that matter "Surfin USA" have to do with twelve-minute songs that kind of sound like "yaoooooooaaaaaooooooooo (plink plink plink)"

Have you heard the first song on the album? Have you ever heard Brian Wilson sing? The comparisons are not "lazy", they are very accurate. Pet Sounds was supposed to be a experimental album, as opposed to their "surf songs". Sunset3: I don't think you're understanding the specific mention of melody. It's layered melodies which The Beach Boys were known for, on Pet Sounds hits like "Wouldn't it Be Nice" and "God Only Knows". This IS rare in indie, which usually has one lead singer and might have catchy choruses, but in a way that emphasizes rhyme and beat rather than vocal melody. And of course, there is that whole Brian Wilson voice thing...

quote:

Originally posted by BContrat:
Have you heard the first song on the album? Have you ever heard Brian Wilson sing? The comparisons are not "lazy", they are very accurate. Pet Sounds was supposed to be a experimental album, as opposed to their "surf songs". Sunset3: I don't think you're understanding the specific mention of melody. It's layered melodies which The Beach Boys were known for, on Pet Sounds hits like "Wouldn't it Be Nice" and "God Only Knows". This IS rare in indie, which usually has one lead singer and might have catchy choruses, but in a way that emphasizes rhyme and beat rather than vocal melody. And of course, there is that whole Brian Wilson voice thing...

I can understand a rather general similarity in vocal style, but in terms of timbre, Noah's voice is unique in my mind. Maybe I just listen to Animal Collective far too much for my own good. I think the comparison is analogous to the Julian Casablancas to Lou Reed comparison that sprung up everywhere when the Strokes first hit the hype wave.

Basically, in short, I really resist direct artistic comparisons like these because they cheapen what the artist is doing now. A couple of my snobby music-listening aquaintances always fall into these knee-jerk one-offs with each other about what everything "sounds like." When listening to the music becomes more about "spot the influences" and less about actually absorbing an artistic expression, then it is no longer moving, it is academic. If you really insist on Beach Boys comparison I'll let it slide this time, there really isn't a fault to being heavily influenced by the Beach Boys. And I'm loving Person Pitch so much now I don't care what it is labeled as.

I don't think Julian Casablancas sounds much like Lou Reed, but I do think Panda Bear sounds an awful lot like the Beach Boys. I wouldn't get too worked up about it, as I'm pretty sure this is the effect he's going for. I can't imagine you'd employ those vocal effects and harmonies and not expect Beach Boys comparisons.

Listening to it for the first time, not bad. I like it more than any Beach Boys I've heard.

I don't like this nearly as much as AC (I like their energy and craziness more) but this is still pretty good. I prefer the shorter songs, but overall pretty soild work.

I know I've said it, like, 50 times already, but this will make 51:

Person Pitch is the best thing I've heard to come out in 2007. The rest of my top 'whatever' list will presumably shift around throughout the year, but this simply cannot and will not be topped. Nothing I've heard from 2007 comes close to giving me so much joy. If you must use a Beach Boys comparison when referring to it, so be it. But it really doesn't sound that much like a BB album..... unless maybe you fed it through a kaleidoscope or something.

Honestly, I am absolutely amazed (confused? aghast?!) that some folks find it boring. Certainly, we have not heard the same album.

"I'm Not" sounds like it will be playing on my way to heaven in the background.

quote:

Originally posted by Platypus Quest:

Honestly, I am absolutely amazed (confused? aghast?!) that some folks find it boring. Certainly, we have not heard the same album.

Yaaaoooooooaaaaaoooooo (plink plink plink)

That's what I was hearing. I'll give it another listen but I was truly unimpressed.

I finally listened to this through a stream and it did very little for me. The Beach Boys comparison is right, it sounds like he is going for that. I fit into the rest of the people saying that it is boring and very lax, I just don't hear anything great. This is all very premature, I will re-listen to it, but at this point in time I don't hear the hype.