A ? Of WHEN is the new album from the Portugal based duo of Panda Bear and Sonic Boom out through Domino Records.

Both have individually charted a course exploring contemporary psych pop to much acclaim. Pete Kember’s sonic world making abilities are decades proven, originating with his groundbreaking work in Spacemen 3 in the early 80s, continuing through his collaborations with Stereolab and Yo La Tengo, and later production work with Beach House and MGMT. The duo’s origin harks back to 2011, when Kember co-produced Panda Bear’s (Noah Lennox) debut solo album Tomboy, Lennox himself an acclaimed multi instrumentalist and founding member of The Animal Collective.

The two formed a sympathetic whole, launching us into their waters of neo psychedelia with 2022’s Reset. A ? Of WHEN casts us away in that familiar sonic drift; nostalgic singalong and meditative, chakric dirge are elements that ebb and flow like flotsam jetsam.

This record sees them extend their palette to absorb sounds and textures previously unused by the duo; harp loops, steel drums and mariachi bands lubricate the delivery of heavy lyrical themes of online exhaustion and climate anxiety.

Kember shared the influence of Jamaican independence era compositions on the duo with Lauren Taylor on Breaking and Entering recently…

“I was always really impressed by Jamaican music from the mid and late 60s…they were dealing with some super tough issues in Jamaica, everything was collapsing and crashing, there’s just some amazing music that came out of that era…Even though they are talking about not being able to get food, having massive inflation, Junior Murvin’s “Police and Thieves” is a good example, they’re talking about tough issues but in a really beautiful positive way”.

In the age of the immediate, the accessible and the brain rottingly forgettable, the duo made the decision to not allow any streaming on this album, to be enjoyed irl not url. Charting a steady and hypnotic pace, A ? Of WHEN’s effervescent psych pop soup is as welcome as a warm bath. Both a sign of, and an elemental reprieve from manmade tumult.