Panda Bear And Lunice Remix Angel Du$t
On the face of it, Panda Bear does not have a whole lot in common with Trapped Under Ice singer Justice Tripp, one of the most intense and galvanizing hardcore frontmen to come along this century. But Panda and Tripp both come from Baltimore, and that kind of connection matters to people from the greatest city in America. Tripp’s band Angel Du$t also features three members of Baltimore marauders Turnstile, and they’ve been playing around with power-pop hooks and softer textures since before we made them a Band To Watch in 2016. Today, we get to hear Panda Bear’s version of an Angel Du$t track, and it makes more sense than you might imagine.
Last summer, Angel Du$t surprise-released the three-song EP Lil House, which they recorded with producer Rob Schnapf. Those songs seemed almost experimental by virtue of how sunny and friendly and gentle they were. Today, Angel Du$t have released an EP of remixes of “Never Ending Game,” probably the friendliest of those three songs. Panda Bear has taken “Never Ending Game” and laid his gorgeous cascading harmonies all over it. It’s one of the most straightforwardly pretty Panda tracks I’ve heard in a while, and it’s also a fun novelty to hear him giving his version of a song that’s presumably named after a band of Detroit mosh-music knuckleheads. (Is Panda Bear into hardcore? I would love to find out something like that.)
The remix EP also features a reworking of “Never Ending Game” from Lunice, the Montreal dance producer who’s one half of TNGHT. In his version, Lunice layers the track with oscillating synth-bloops and ominous hums, and they fit the track nicely. Check out the Panda Bear and Lunice remixes, as well as Angel Du$t’s video for the original “Never Ending Game,” below.
The Never Ending Games EP is out now on Roadrunner.