Panda Bear announces new album and releases first single “Defense”

Panda Bear has announced his new album, Eerie driftthe Animal Collective member’s first solo album in six years.

The singer, born Noah Lennox, also shared the LP’s first single and closing track, “Defense,” featuring guitar work from guest Cindy Lee, aka Patrick Flegel, a standout performance Diamond Jubilee arrived at the beginning of the year.

Sinister Grift“, will be released on February 28, 2025 via Domino and is Panda Bear’s first solo album since 2019 Buoys and follows his joint LP released in 2022 Reset with Sonic Boom. While Sinister Grift is a solo album, it features a bevy of guests including Cindy Lee, Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede and – for the first time on a Panda Bear record – all of his Animal Collective bandmates, most notably Josh “Deakin” . Dibb, who co-produced the album with Lennox in his studio in Lisbon, Portugal.

“Working on this record felt like a sacred and warm return,” Dibb said in a statement. “Noah and I started recording music on multi-track cassettes in 1991. 32 years later and working in the same way, two friends alone in a room searching for sounds and feelings that move us, I am very proud of what we have created together. Sinister Grift feels like the songwriter I’ve known for over 30 years, but also feels like a new chapter of sorts for Noah. We couldn’t be prouder of the result.”

Friends of the panda bear and like-minded people who have already heard it Sinister Grift They also expressed their praise in the press release. “To Sinister Grift“Panda Bear cuts a lonely figure, bracing himself against the winds of fortune and misfortune,” said Jessica Pratt.

“Noah’s pure and poignant lamentations are less elusive this time, as if our narrator had awakened from a sobering dream. Singing a familiar lap on a vulnerable path, Panda Bear presents a series of torch songs that impart hard-won wisdom and exhilarate despite the burden they carry.”

Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin called the album “a classic rock dream that transitions beautifully into a little nightmare.”

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Sinister Grift is available to pre-order now, with a 7″ single of “Defense” supporting non-LP track “Virginia Tech” hitting indie record stores on October 18th.

A few weeks before the album’s release in February, Panda Bear will begin the first leg of a North American tour, with a second leg planned in May across the western half of the United States. Check out the tour dates and Sinister GriftThe track list can be found below.

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Sinister Grift Track list
1. Praise
2. Anywhere but here
3. 50mg
4. Ends meeting
5. Just as good
6. Ferry lady
7. Venom is here
8. Left out in the cold
9. Elegy for Noah Lou
10. Defense

Panda Bear Tour Dates
February 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
February 7th – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed
February 8 – Detroit, MI at Royal Oak Music Hall
February 10 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
February 11 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
February 12 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
February 14 – New York City, NY @ Terminal 5
February 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
February 16th – Washington, DC at 9:30am at the Club
February 19th – Raleigh, NC at The Ritz
February 20 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon
February 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
May 8th – Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
May 12 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs
May 13 – Houston, TX at White Oak Amphitheater
May 14th – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
May 16 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
May 19th – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
May 21 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
May 22 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
May 23 – Vancouver, BC at the Hollywood Theater