Nashville’s Marathon Music Works transformed into a swirling, sonic dreamscape as Panda Bear took the stage, opening for Toro y Moi. With a new album, Sinister Grift, set to release Friday and 1.4 million monthly listeners, the experimental artist delivered a set that blurred the lines between structure and chaos, sound and sensation. From the moment the first notes of "Selfish Gene" pulsed through the venue, it was clear that dynamics were Panda Bear’s playground. The song’s heartbeat-like rhythm created an almost hypnotic effect, drawing the crowd into his unique world. As the set progressed, the volume swelled, and with it, the music became increasingly unhinged—trading clarity for immersive, electrified disorder. Visually, Panda Bear’s performance was just as entrancing. Trippy, flashing projections synced with his reggae-meets-electronic sound, evoking both the sun-soaked harmonies of The Beach Boys and the untamed psychedelia of a summer EDM festival at its peak.
The audience, lost in the ebb and flow of his compositions, swayed and nodded along, fully absorbed in the auditory and visual spectacle. One of the night’s standout moments came as he leaned into the crescendos, pushing his set into increasingly intense, layered heights, each sonic explosion met with cheers filled with energy and appreciation. For the finale, he debuted "Take Pills", a track from new album Sinister Grift, accompanied by a kaleidoscopic montage of medical side effects—an eerie, fitting close to an evening defined by musical unpredictability. For those unfamiliar with Panda Bear, imagine the warmth of classic surf harmonies colliding with the unpredictable chaos of a late-night house show. It’s music that defies definition, shifting between soothing and unsettling in a way that only he can orchestrate. In Nashville, he proved once again why he remains one of the most fascinating experimental artists in modern music.
- Joanna Walden
Photos Courtesy of Emily Duncko (For Bell Music Magazine)
