What do you get when you mix the warm sounds of the 60s and harmonious psychedelic synth? You get Panda Bear and Sonic Boom’s collaborative album, Reset. Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) and Pete Kember (Sonic Boom) have worked together on previous projects such as Lennox’s solo album Tomboy (2011) as well as a more influential role in Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper (2015). Reset is a nice-sized album with 9 songs, coming out to 38 minutes.
The album is a cohesive blend of 60s pop and today’s psychedelic rock. With songs like Go On, sampling Give it to me by The Troggs (‘68), or Livin in the after sampling Save the Last Dance for Me by The Drifters (‘60), it is hard to miss the heavy 60s pop rock influence. Even the songs without the samples have the same upbeat sounds. It was those upbeat warm sounds that inspired Lennox and Kember to create this album. The collaboration started in 2020 over the pandemic when the artists were looking for a sense of comfort in a time of such uncertainty. Despite the upbeat sounds of the music, the lyrics are quite the opposite. The lyrics are a melancholy reflection of the pandemic and the state of society at the time.
All of the songs are unified by Lennox’s well-established psychedelic sound. Lennox has quite a bit of experience in the psychedelic, experimental pop, and alt-rock genres through his involvement in the group Animal Collective. Kember has experience in the production realm, working with bands such as MGMT, Beach House, and Ice Age. He also worked with his own psych-space-rock group Spacemen 3.
One moment that particularly stood out to me through researching the album and the artists, was in an interview done by Pitchfork. Kember is asked about the dial-up tone in the intro to the song Edge of the Edge, which just so happens to be my personal favorite on the album. Kember explains that the modem sound used in the intro was from a machine that he had previously gotten and tried to use in different projects in the past. Yet the artists he was working with at the time were not as keen to the sounds as Kember, he didn’t give up hope as he brought it to Lennox for this song, and it stuck. I think that Edge of the edge is a reflection of the intentions of Lennox and Kember. The song samples Denise by Randy and the Rainbows (‘63), accompanied by Beach Boys-like harmonies that create a nostalgic and comfortable vibe.
Each of the songs on this album starts with its own whimsical intros, yet they are all unified by similar techno sounds. The juxtaposition in each of the songs between the despondent lyrics and the musics’ ability to evoke a sense of comfort contributes to the album’s sense of chaos. Overall I think the album does a great job at creating a cohesive and interesting sound. Reset is a captivating combination of Noah Lennox and Pete Kembers individual sounds, and I think that everyone can find a piece of this album to enjoy.
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