Tomboy (album)

Tomboy
Studio album by Panda Bear
Released	April 12, 2011
Genre	Psychedelia,[1] electronic[2]
Length	49:59
Label	Paw Tracks
Producer	Panda Bear, Sonic Boom
Panda Bear chronology
Person Pitch (2007) Tomboy (2011) Mr Noah (EP) (2014)
Singles from Tomboy
"Tomboy" Released: July 13, 2010 "You Can Count on Me" Released: October 19, 2010 "Last Night at the Jetty" Released: December 13, 2010 "Surfer's Hymn" Released: March 28, 2011

Tomboy is the fourth solo album by American experimental pop musician Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), released on April 4, 2011 as an online stream.^[3] Lennox mentioned Tomboy would be a departure from his signature sound on Person Pitch and Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion: "I got tired of the severe parameters of using samplers. Thinking about Nirvana and The White Stripes got me into the idea of doing something with a heavy focus on guitar and rhythm."^[4]

Songs

The song "Benfica" is a reference to the Portuguese football club S.L. Benfica.^[5]

Mixing

In an interview with NYCTaper in September 2010, Josh Dibb of Animal Collective revealed that he and bandmate Dave Portner had been requested to mix the album on its completion.^[6] However, due to the fact that both of them were busy at the time, it was later reported that the album was being mixed by Sonic Boom, former Spacemen 3 member and producer of psychedelic pop band MGMT's second album, Congratulations.^[7]

Promotion

Lennox had mentioned that Tomboy's release would be similar to that of Person Pitch in that several singles would be released on different labels prior to its release, "Doing the singles helps me focus on every song and also helps me move along in the process."^[4] The first single, "Tomboy" was released on Paw Tracks July 13, 2010, with a digital release following a week later. The first and only pressing sold out quickly. Another two singles, "You Can Count on Me" and "Last Night at the Jetty", were released later in the year on Domino and FatCat respectively. "Surfer's Hymn", the last of the four planned singles, was released by Kompakt on March 28 with a remix by London musician Actress.^[8]

On January 14, 2011, Lennox announced via Facebook that the album would be released on April 19 of that year,^[9] and it was later moved up a week to April 12 so it would be available on Record Store Day.^[10] Two listening parties for the album were held in New York City on February 16, and another two in Los Angeles on February 28.

Release

According to his website, Tomboy was slated for release "near the end of 2010"^[4] but the album release was delayed until 2011. The first 1000 pressings of the vinyl were printed on translucent wax, and initial copies of the album came with a download card redeemable for a free digital copy of Live at Governor's Island, a recording of a New York show by Panda Bear from September 11, 2010.

A limited edition box set for the album was released on November 1, 2011 with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. It contains four LPs featuring: the Tomboy full length with slightly different mixing on two LPs, Noah's single mixes on one LP, and several Tomboy unreleased instrumentals and a cappellas, plus "The Preakness" and a 16-page art booklet.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[11]
A.V. Club	(A-)[12]
The Guardian	[13]
Paste	(7.1/10)[14]
Pitchfork Media	(8.5/10)[15]
PopMatters	(6/10)[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Slant	[18]
Spin	[19]
Uncut	[20]

Pitchfork placed the album at number 32 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011".^[21]

Rolling Stone placed the album at number 37 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011".^[22]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Can Count on Me"	2:33
2.	"Tomboy"	4:55
3.	"Slow Motion"	4:36
4.	"Surfer's Hymn"	4:10
5.	"Last Night at the Jetty"	4:40
6.	"Drone"	4:01
7.	"Alsatian Darn"	4:16
8.	"Scheherazade"	3:53
9.	"Friendship Bracelet"	5:54
10.	"Afterburner"	6:50
11.	"Benfica"	4:11

Expanded Edition bonus track
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Preakness" (Positioned between "Drone" and "Alsatian Darn")	3:32

References

1. "The 5 Best Albums and 5 Best Songs This Month". Papermag. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
2. SPIN
3. Beca Grimm (2011-04-14). "First Listen: Panda Bear, 'Tomboy'". NPR. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
4. "artists". paw tracks. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
5. "Não aconselhável a não benfiquistas". Retrieved 2015-12-03.
6. "Deakin: The NYCTaper Interview by Jarrod Dicker". nyctaper. 2010-09-12. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
7. "Panda Bear's Tomboy Tracklist Unveiled | News". Pitchfork. 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
8. "// BLOG // News: March 28th Kompakt Releases Panda Bear "Surfers Hymn" 7" w/ Actress Remix!". Kompakt.fm. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
9. "Panda Bear - Panda Bear's 'Tomboy' to be released April...". Facebook. 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
10. "Behold: The Cover of Panda Bear's Tomboy | News". Pitchfork. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
11. Heather Phares. "Tomboy - Panda Bear | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
12. Hyden, Steven. "Tomboy · Panda Bear · Music Review Panda Bear: Tomboy · Music Review · The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
13. Maddy Costa. "Panda Bear: Tomboy – review | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
14. "Panda Bear: Tomboy :: Music :: Reviews :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
15. "Panda Bear: Tomboy | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
16. "Critic Reviews for Tomboy". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
17. Hermes, Will (2011-04-12). "Panda Bear Tomboy Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
18. "Panda Bear Tomboy | Album Review". Slant Magazine. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
19. "Panda Bear, 'Tom Boy' (Paw Tracks)". SPIN. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
20. "Uncut". Uncut. 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
21. "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2011". Pitchfork Media. December 15, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
22. Betts, Stephen. "Panda Bear, 'Tomboy' - 50 Best Albums of 2011". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-11-20.