Panda Bear’s live album arrives December 11: 17 tracks at Power Station

Panda Bear’s 17-track PB Band Live 25 at Power Station arrives December 11 through Domino’s Domino Documents, its live studio recording series. Panda Bear’s announcement describes the release as a record of the five-piece group in motion, led by Noah Lennox.

The project grew out of Sinister Grift, Panda Bear’s 2025 album. For that record, Lennox mostly worked alone, playing guitar, bass, keys and drums at different points. Taking it onstage required another arrangement because the one-man-band format (one performer covering several parts) no longer matched the record’s construction.

According to Panda Bear’s announcement, he recruited:

• Tim Koh — bass.
• Maria Reis — keyboards and percussion.
• Tomé Silva — drums.
• Rivka Ravede of Spirit of the Beehive — samplers (devices or software that trigger recorded sounds).

All four also supplied backing vocals (chorus lines behind the lead voice). The result was a quintet (five-member band) for the tour and studio dates.

The quintet recorded the album at Power Station in New York last fall, after touring the U.K. and Europe. Domino Documents is built around live studio recording (capturing a performance in the recording room), so the release foregrounds the ensemble’s live arrangement. The first preview, a live version of “Take Pills,” is available now.

Since releasing Sinister Grift, Lennox has remained in collaborative projects. In July, he and Sonic Boom released the joint album A ? of When. He also reunited with Animal Collective for live performances devoted to the group’s 2005 album Feels.

Animal Collective initially planned two dates, one in New York and one in Los Angeles. Panda Bear’s announcement attributes the subsequent doubling of shows to a ticketing glitch. It also points readers to The 50 Best Albums of 2025, which lists Sinister Grift at No. 43.

The announcement gives the complete running order below. Every title carries the suffix “Live at Power Station.”

• Shepard Tone (Live at Power Station)
• Song for Ariel (Live at Power Station)
• Sequential Circuits (Live at Power Station)
• Ferry Lady (Live at Power Station)
• Anywhere But Here (Live at Power Station)
• Boneless (Live at Power Station)
• Tomboy (Live at Power Station)
• The Preakness (Live at Power Station)
• Ends Meet (Live at Power Station)
• Virginia Tech (Live at Power Station)
• Just As Well (Live at Power Station)
• Slow Motion (Live at Power Station)
• Alsatian Darn (Live at Power Station)
• Inner Monologue (Live at Power Station)
• Take Pills (Live at Power Station)
• Praise (Live at Power Station)
• Buoys (Live at Power Station)

What does the live album change for Panda Bear?

For Sinister Grift, Lennox switched among four instruments; PB Band Live 25 presents the touring musicians as a performing ensemble. The practical difference is that listeners can now judge the songs in the form Lennox actually performed, rather than only through the finished solo record.

The album therefore shifts attention from Lennox’s largely solo studio construction to the working sound of a band. Its sequence places songs associated with one performer inside an ensemble arrangement, with four additional players supplying bass, keys, percussion, drums and samplers, plus backing voices.

The live “Take Pills” preview offers the first evidence of that shift. When the full 17-track set arrives on December 11, listeners will hear whether the quintet sustains a distinct identity or mainly provides a framework for Lennox’s songs.