Review Summary: One of psych-pop's most underrated duos return with another top-tier summer soundtrack.
Reset was my most unexpected triumph of 2022 when it came to personal streaming habits. Initially I reviewed the album with a somewhat lukewarm slant, only to have the album’s glowing Beach Boys-esque melodies wash over me for an entire summer. It played on repeat as we drove around the beach for a week, and my son - three at the time - would ask for “Panda and Boom Boom” every time we got in the car. I can still hear him bursting into laughter when the lower-register “buh dum dum dum” backing vocals would kick in on ‘Edge of the Edge’, or see him thoroughly lost in toddler-thought during the swelling strings of ‘Livin in the After’. This continued during the summers of 2023, 2024, and 2025, and while my son’s reactions to the songs eventually transitioned from awe-struck to merely “dad, this is my favorite band”, I still imagine that
Reset was to him what
Pet Sounds was to me when my parents would take my brother and I on long drives when we were little, and I’d drift away to the glorious melodies, unaware that not all music sounds so blissful.
So when Panda Bear and Sonic Boom collaborated once more in 2026 for
A ? of When - this time opting to release in physical-only format - I of course had no choice but to indulge, even if it cost me a pretty few bucks. The timing of this release is almost serendipitous, as the family and I are gearing up for this year’s beach trip; I haven’t even told my son of the album’s existence yet, because I’d like him to hear it for the first time as we drive there. Still, I’ve spun it a handful of times since it dropped, and I can already tell that it’s got a lot of the same charm as
Reset - it’s not immediate (and neither was
Reset), but there’s a swaying, summer-like elegance that subtly reveals new layers with each fresh spin amid its seemingly endless oceanic sonic depth. I’m teeming with anticipation for him to hear these new textures and bubbling melodies, knowing full well that it’ll be the first time he hears a new release from his established favorite artist.
A ? of When slowly draws your focus near with ‘Never Givin In’, a tropical-sounding pop tune that traverses five and a half minutes of breezy harmonies and beautiful harp playing courtesy of Mary Lattimore. Once it grabs your attention, it plunges you into the water with ‘Lucky Charm’, a dreamy, aqueous trip that feels like a slow descent into the ocean - rays of light dance from above in the form of melodic guitar licks, while the bubbling electronic coolness of the water slowly envelops and cools you. From this point forward, you’re basically at the mercy of Panda Bear and Sonic Boom’s breathtaking atmospheres. Each track washes over you with a slightly different accent - whether it’s a new instrumental inclusion, a different vocal effect, or a downright strange creative wrinkle - and it all coalesces into this unmistakable, definitive
summer vibe that will make you wonder why you’d want to listen to anything else when you’re out and about, taking in the season.
I’d characterize
A ? of When as less accessible and pop-leaning than
Reset, but more expansive and arguably better. If
Reset was a day on the beach and boardwalk, then this album is like wandering into the dunes to look for crabs, or walking along the bay at night and feeling the salty breeze move your hair under the stars. It’s more removed and less obvious of its intentions, but in doing so, it creates an even more unique experience. Take ‘Something Like Dreaming’ for instance; it’s a heavenly, otherworldly track that is driven primarily by a harp and handclaps, but its insistence on making those sounds the percussive driving force allows for a universe of what Panda Bear has done best dating back to his earliest days in Animal Collective - filling the open spaces with the most lush, imaginative electronic effects possible. And while there’s enough ‘God Only Knows’ styled balladry (‘Like a Moth to a Flame’, Pray to You’) to satisfy any “modern Beach Boys” craving you’ve ever had, the reason that
A ? of When is more artistically impressive than
Reset is because the styles and textures here are bolder and more experimental. It truly feels like the best possible amalgamation of 60s surf pop and
Merriweather Post Pavilion.
I may have underestimated
Reset upon its 2022 release, but I won’t be making the same mistake with
A ? of When. This is a gorgeous, sweeping, summery experimental record that in my humblest of opinions deserves to see Panda Bear and Sonic Boom recognized
far more than they currently are as a brilliant psych-pop duo. I prefer them to all of the various Animal Collective offshoots for a number of reasons (chief among them, my own personal memories), and while I understand that it’d be tough for them to ascend beyond the likes of AC - seeing as artists this far into their respective careers rarely escape the shadows of whatever vessel launched their fame - it’d still be nice to see Panda Bear and Sonic Boom become a household name. For whatever it’s worth, they’re already a household name in my family. 2022’s
Reset may gradually fade, but as I queue this new record up for the long drive to the shore, I’ll also be queuing up a round of new memories - both for my son and for me. Or as Panda Bear sings in the waning moments of the jazzy, exuberant closer, ‘Graveyard’: “Take me to the place I've never been.” Who says the future can’t be just as beautiful as the past?
