Panda Bear announces new album 'Sinister Grift' - out February 28th 2025
Panda Bear
Announces new album Sinister Grift
Out February 28th 2025
Releases new single “Defense” featuring Cindy Lee
Announces North American Tour with Toro y Moi + EU/UK Dates
Includes intimate show at London’s The Lexington 10th Dec
Panda Bear, the solo project of Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox, announces his new full-length Sinister Grift, due out February 28th 2025 via Domino. Lennox recorded the album at his Estudio Campo in Lisbon, Portugal and co-produced it with his Animal Collective bandmate Josh Dibb. Today he shares the album’s first single “Defense,” which features Cindy Lee, the persona of Canadian musician Patrick Flegel, on guitar.
Watch the “Defense” video here.
Stream “Defense” here.
A 7" single of "Defense" will be available only at select indie retail stores globally this Friday, October 18. The single's B-side features a new track, "Virginia Tech," which is exclusive to the 7”.
Two decades since debuting as the masked-and-nicknamed drummer and vocalist of Animal Collective, Noah Lennox has led so many creative lives, navigated so many different styles, and been part of so many beloved recordings, that it can be easy to overlook just how consistent his creative vision has remained.
From landmark solo albums like 2007’s Person Pitch and 2015’s Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, to breakthroughs withAnimal Collective like 2004’s Sung Tongs and 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, to his boundary-pushing collaborations with Daft Punk, Solange, Dean Blunt, Paramore and Jamie xx, all of his work followed an instantly identifiable emotional throughline while influencing multiple generations and genres of artists.
On Sinister Grift, Lennox’s first solo album in five years, he has returned with another statement that feels equally cumulative and unprecedented in his catalog. While his solo records have ranged from starkly intimate expressions of grief to colorful, electronic opuses, his music has never before sounded so warm and immediate. Working in his Lisbon, Portugal home studio with Animal Collective bandmate Josh “Deakin” Dibb, Lennox transforms Panda Bear into something resembling an old-school rock ensemble, playing nearly all the instruments himself and inviting kindred spirits into the process such as Cindy Lee, Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede, and—for the first time on a Panda Bear solo album—each of his Animal Collective bandmates.
“Working on this record felt like a sacred and warm return. 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.” - Josh “Deakin” Dibb
“A classic rock dream that ebbs beautifully into a little bit of a nightmare.” - Daniel Lopatin
“On Sinister Grift, Panda Bear cuts a lone figure, bracing himself against the winds of fortune and calamity. 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.” – Jessica Pratt
“Noah has the ability to be incredibly concise in his songwriting. Feels like every idea, every word and every sound is there to serve a purpose - the purpose being the actual song. Sinister Grift has that all-timer feel to it, as if the songs have been around for decades and at the same time full of fresh new light as though they’re pointing forward.” - Maria Reis
"In these dark times we all need music to get through life. Panda Bear has the magic, his voice feels like the medicine to heal this world. Noah has given us Sinister Grift, I feel relaxed and the beach doesn’t feel far away. Merci Noah for the gift.” - DJ Falcon
“Sinister Grift is a beautiful album. Everything sounds authentic and natural, as if it has always existed and will continue to do so. True and timeless. Thank you Noah.” - Alan Braxe
Today Panda Bear announces his 2025 North American tour, including a run with Toro y Moi,as well as EU/UK dates inDecember of this year and March 2025. This includes an intimate show at London’s The Lexington on 10th December. All dates are below. Artist pre-sale begins Wednesday, October 16 at 10am local with the general on-sale Friday, October 18th at 10am local.
PANDA BEAR ON TOUR
2024
EU/UK
4th Dec - Salão Brazil – Coimbra, PT
5th Dec - Radar – Vigo, ES
6th Dec - El Desierto – Valladolid, ES
7th Dec - Plano B – Porto, PT
8th Dec - ZDB – Lisboa, PT
10th Dec - Lexington – London, UK
11th Dec - Lark – Berlin, DE
13th Dec - Le Hasard Ludique – Paris, FR
2025
North America
* w/ Toro y Moi
6th Feb - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN *
7th Feb – The Salt Shed - Chicago, IL *
8th Feb - Royal Oak Music Hall - Detroit, MI *
10th Feb - The Danforth Music Hall - Toronto, ON *
11th Feb - MTELUS - Montreal, QC *
12th Feb - Roadrunner - Boston, MA *
14th Feb - Terminal 5 - New York City, NY *
15th Feb - Franklin Music Hall - Philadelphia, PA *
16th Feb - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC *
19th Feb - The Ritz - Raleigh, NC *
20th Feb – Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN *
21st Feb - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA *
8th May – The Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ *
12th May – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater - Austin, TX *
13th May - White Oak Music Hall - Houston, TX *
14th May - House of Blues - Dallas, TX *
16th May – The Fillmore - Denver, CO *
19th May - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA
21st May - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
22nd May – The Showbox - Seattle, WA
23rd May - Hollywood Theater - Vancouver, BC
2025
EU
20th March - Capitólio - Lisboa, PT
21st March - Theatro Circo – Braga, PT
22nd March - Almacenes – Oviedo, ES
23rd March - Kafe Antzokia – Bilbao, ES
25th March - Paral·lel 62 – Barcelona, ES
26th March - 16 Toneladas – Valencia, ES
27th March - La Sala – Madrid, ES
28th March - Teatro das Figuras – Faro, PT
Tickets
Sinister Grift artwork:
Tracklisting
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
Sinister Grift is available for pre-order on limited-edition Clear vinyl (Domino Mart), Curacao Blue vinyl (indie exclusive), standard LP, CD, and digitally. All LPs include a double-sided 12”x36” poster. Also available for pre-order on the Domino Mart is a limited-edition Sinister Grift shirt. Pre-order: Dom Mart | Digital.
