Early Album Reviews: The Arcade Fire, Panda Bear, Blonde Redhead, more

Happy Friday! If you need to catch up on your downloading (er, preordering albums on Amazon, of course), here are some early reviews on anticipated upcoming releases:The best of the bunch:Panda Bear: Person Pitch (4 stars)Following the paw prints of his parent group, Panda Bear's newest release is easily his most commercial. More commercial to you and I, maybe, but I also don't see anything wrong with an album that has not one, but two 12-minute psycho-folk freakouts. Even if Animal Collective and Panda Bear haven't been your cup of tea in the past, Person Pitch will probably make a fan out of you. It's nearly all Brian Wilson, perfect-pitch harmonies, gobbledygook lyrics over the neo-tribal folk instrumentation we've come to expect from this clan. The difference between Person Pitch (and Feels) and previous releases from the Collective is that it's perfectly planned. It's only as experimental as it is enjoyable, which isn't important because more fans equals better music, but rather that this is more carefully crafted music. He's indulging us, instead of himself. His last album Young Prayer also was stunning, but had an "ohm" vibe that couldn't bear to be disrupted. Here, he equals atmosphere with heart-skipping melody. "Take Pills," which likely will remind listeners of such jubilant points on AC's Feels and Sung Tongs like "Grass" and "Winter's Love," switches halfway through from the gospel highs of the album's opener "Comfy in Nautica" to a jaunty little ditty that's instantly hummable, and hardly forgettable. Some might miss the trippy early days of Panda Bear and co., but the rest of us will be too busy tapping our feet.Blonde Redhead: 23 (4 stars)23 follows in a similar trajectory to 2004's Misery is a Butterfly, falling further away from their no-wave beginnings and closer to the goth sound of Blonde Redhead's label, 4AD. Does that mean they're shooting to be the next Cocteau Twins? Pretty much. And with that seat wide open, there's none better to take the throne as masters of heartbreak via spiraling guitars and abstruse vocals. Some of the baroque qualities of their arrangements are missed, but in their place are directness and an identity sorely missing from much of their back catalogue. The title track shows Blonde Redhead have learned they needn't always try to surprise us; within 20 seconds, you know where the rest of the song is going, allowing us to fall into their rapturous songs rather than stand watching from afar. It's the first time the band has let their guard down and let us into their nebulous world, which seems ironic since the vocals, particularly those of Kazo Makino, are somewhat buried in the texture. It makes perfect sense, though. Her keening vocals previously could be a deal-breaker, and softening the edges highlights how transcendent she can sound when reaching her highest register, as in the high-pitched swoops of "Top Ranking." The electro-ballad "Silently" should pretty much shut up any criticism to just how lovely she can sound. Amadeo Pace, who revealed himself nearly an equal to Makino on Misery is a Butterfly, takes a step back from the Italian romanticism of the last affair, but still makes room for an old-school BR rocker on "Spring and By Summer Fall." Possibly the best thing they've ever done.Keep on readin' ...