Panda Bear - “Tropic Of Cancer” Video (Dir. Dave Portner)

For the video to Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper standout “Tropic Of Cancer,” Noah Lennox recruited his Animal Collective bandmate Dave Portner AKA Avey Tare to direct. What’s more, the director of photography is Giovanni Ribisi. The gorgeously colorful clip matches Lennox’s dreamy harp waltz with images of a humanoid Panda family whose placid existence is ravaged by the harsh realities of nature. Portner offered a director’s statement:

It’s always been in the spirit of Animal Collective to want to collaborate in many artistic ways with each other. Having been a fan of Noah’s music since we were teenagers, it’s sweet to finally be able to collaborate with him on something other than just making sounds and songs. I also am thankful to get my first shot at making something a little more long running in the visual/video world. This is one of my favorite songs on the record, hence my being involved with it. I’m grateful and excited to have worked on every moment of it and to have worked with all the sweet people who helped me put it together.

The video is as beautiful, strange, and unsettling as anything in the Animal Collective oeuvre.