Getting To The Point: A Quick Review Of The New Album From Panda Bear (Animal Collective) & Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3)

The combination of two talents like this should result in something special and I'm happy to report that it did. Reset from Panda Bear & Sonic Boom is out digitally now, with physical media available soon. This Domino release is out now.

"Gettin' to the Point" is more bright and airy than anything Pete Kember (Sonic Boom) ever did in Spacemen 3, even as it fits the M.O. of Panda Bear, while "Go On" is more insistent. This one, built upon percussive hits and keyboard washes is elegant and catchy still. "Everyday" has textures like those on the last, superb Sonic Boom release, but it's also got the sort of melodic pep that seems more Panda Bear's doing than Kember's. Most of the record's best moments are just like those on this track, thankfully, with "Edge of the Edge" even seeming to be anchored by what sounds like a rhythmic hook from "Denise" by Randy & The Rainbows (another track's sample of a Drifters hook is even bolder).

Reset is the rare sort of record that builds upon New Wave forms, and electronica legends' work, but which sounds as light as a feather, and entirely unpretentious. There's lots here that seems almost like if Frank Tovey decided to make a Human League record, you know? This is simple stuff, but there's complexity in the layering of the pieces (including vocals) to achieve the desired effect. And nothing seems anything less than bright and catchy, which is a pleasant surprise for something like this.

Reset by Panda Bear & Sonic Boom is out now via Domino.

[Photo: Ian Witchell]