Panda Bear is full of mystical, surreal wisdom. His music is from another world, full of interstellar gurgles and creaks that bounce off one another to create alien harmonies and impart coded lessons. Today’s knowledge: Think twice before sticking your finger into that glowing hole.
That’s the mistake Noah Lennox’s protagonist makes in the video for “Boys Latin,” a psychedelic animated trip that premiered on Adult Swim last night. The style has immediate parallels to the network’s similarly insane Adventure Time, but Lennox’s characters are computer-generated rather than drawn.
The “Boys Latin” video was directed by Isaiah Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch. Their previous work includes Björk’s “Wanderlust” and Grizzly Bear’s “Knife” videos—if you’re familiar, you know these two are masters of animation and abstract creativity. “Boys Latin” is a swirl of vivid colors made all the more unearthly by Panda Bear’s echoing melodies, a sound that is reflected in the video.
Director Saxon said “We tried hard to bring out the vibe of that alternating melody that Noah is singing. We’ve always believed that shapes and forms themselves have emotional meaning. For example, round things are often cute and non-threatening, while spiky things usually seem dangerous. We ran with that idea by creating these dynamic forms that grow out of our characters as they deal with their emotions.”
Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper, the artist’s fifth studio album, will be released January 13.
