BEST OF 2010 (songs) #21 Panda Bear - Slow Motion

To be honest I haven't been much into Animal Collective or anything related for the past couple of years. I thought the much lauded "Merriweather Post Pavilion" was the most overrated record of 2009 and had generally grown sick of their ubiquity and even more sick of bands attempting to sound like them. So I was a bit surprised that member Panda Bear's singles from this year enchanted me so, but they did. "Slow Motion" rooted itself inside of my brain to be played repeatedly throughout the latter half of the year as part of my internal soundtrack. There is a sort of M.C. Escher quality to the track which is built on ascending and descending reverbed effects that slowly but surely hypnotizes the listener. Panda Bear's vocals float dreamily over the music giving the track an otherworldly quality, even as the music threatens to pull you down toward darkness. "Slow Motion," as well as the other Panda Bear tracks released this year, give cause for even an AC cynic like me to anticipate both the new Panda Bear full length as well as the next Animal Collective release.