Panda Bear has announced his new album, Sinister Drift, the Animal Collective member’s first solo album in six years.
The singer born Noah Lennox has also shared the LP’s first single and closing track, “Defense,” featuring the guitar work of guest Cindy Lee, a.k.a. Patrick Flegel, whose stellar Diamond Jubilee arrived earlier this year.
Sinister Grift, out February 28, 2025, via Domino, marks Panda Bear’s first solo album since 2019’s Buoys and follows his 2022 collaborative LP Reset with Sonic Boom. While a solo album, Sinister Grift 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 at the latter’s Lisbon, Portugal studio.
“Working on this record felt like a sacred and warm return,” Dibb 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.”
Panda Bear pals and peers who already heard Sinister Grift also shared their praise in the press release. “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 the album, “A classic rock dream that ebbs beautifully into a little bit of a nightmare.”
Sinister Grift is available to preorder now, with a 7″ single of “Defense” backed by non-LP cut “Virginia Tech” hitting indie record stores on October 18.
A few weeks before the album’s arrival in February, Panda Bear will embark on the first leg of a North American tour, with a second leg covering the western half of the U.S. scheduled for May. Check out the tour dates and Sinister Grift’s track list below.
Sinister Grift Track List
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 Tour Dates
February 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
February 7 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed
February 8 – Detroit, MI @ 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 16 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
February 19 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
February 20 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon
February 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
May 8 – Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
May 12 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs
May 13 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Amphitheater
May 14 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
May 16 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
May 19 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
May 21 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
May 22 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
May 23 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theater
From Rolling Stone US
