Panda Bear and Sonic Boom Create Immersive Neo-Psychedelia » PopMatters

Reviewing a collaboration between Panda Bear of the Beach Boys-inspired indie rock collective Animal Collective and British producer and musician Sonic Boom, it is difficult not to approach A ? of When expecting echoes of 1960s psychedelia. Sonic Boom has spent decades refining a sound indebted to the minimalist repetition of psychedelic and space rock, while Panda Bear’s music has long had an affinity with the Beach Boys. Their latest collaboration rarely challenges those expectations, instead embracing them almost completely.

The album opens with “Never Givin’ In”, which begins with a delicate harp motif sampled from a performance by Mary Lattimore before the vocals enter almost immediately. Sung in a languid, dreamy register, the lead vocal recalls John Lennon at his most hypnotic. Whether this resemblance comes primarily from Panda Bear’s transatlantic phrasing or Sonic Boom’s understated English drawl is difficult to tell, but the comparison immediately evokes Tomorrow Never Knows and the psychedelic experimentation of the Beatles‘ mid-1960s recordings.

That opening proves an effective introduction to the record’s broader approach. Most of the songs begin with a distinctive instrumental motif played on an unexpected instrument—a harp, steel drum, or Farfisa organ—which is then looped throughout the track. Around this repeating foundation, the duo layers synthesiser textures, instrument-derived drones such as the sitar, occasional environmental sounds, and closely blended vocal harmonies. The result is immersive and beautifully textured, with each arrangement revealing an obvious care for timbre and atmosphere.

These sonic choices make A ? of When easy to admire. Few contemporary artists are as skilled as Panda Bear and Sonic Boom at creating warm, enveloping soundscapes from relatively sparse ingredients. The album’s production consistently rewards close listening, and individual sounds possess a vividness that keeps the ear engaged even when the underlying musical material remains unchanged.

Yet the same compositional method that gives the album its identity also becomes its principal limitation. Sonic Boom has described being fascinated by forgotten pop records whose introductory motifs seemed strong enough to sustain an entire song. That idea informed the duo’s 2022 collaboration Reset, and it remains central here. It is an appealing concept, particularly for anyone who has been disappointed when a striking musical introduction gives way to a conventional verse and chorus.

Unfortunately, A ? of When demonstrates the opposite danger. Extending an appealing loop over several minutes places enormous pressure on the harmonic and rhythmic development surrounding it. Too often, the repeated motifs settle into static harmonic patterns that remain largely unchanged for the duration of each track. While the textures continue to evolve subtly, the underlying harmonic language rarely does. By the album’s midpoint, the cumulative effect is one of pleasant stasis rather than sustained momentum.

Another insight into the record’s creation helps explain this aesthetic. When brainstorming this album, Panda Bear expressed an interest in making music centred almost entirely on percussion and voice. Combined with Sonic Boom’s fascination with loop-based songwriting, this produces compositions that privilege texture, rhythm, and timbre over harmonic movement. That artistic choice is entirely coherent, but it also means the album asks listeners to find variety in increasingly subtle details. Had the rhythmic language been more adventurous or the tempos more fluid, the relative lack of harmonic development might have felt less restrictive.

The comparison that continually comes to mind is “Tomorrow Never Knows”. Like that Beatles classic, A ? of When builds hypnotic worlds from repetition, drones, and unconventional studio techniques. The difference is that “Tomorrow Never Knows” condenses its ideas into a single exhilarating statement, whereas A ? of When stretches a similar aesthetic across an entire record. The craftsmanship never comes into question, nor does the beauty of many individual sounds. What feels missing is a greater willingness to let these carefully chosen timbres lead to equally adventurous harmonic or structural destinations.