Warm, nostalgia-soaked psychedelia filled the pores of Downtown LA’s Bellwether last Friday night when Panda Bear and Sonic Boom played their new LP Reset top to bottom.
Panda Bear, initially of Animal Collective fame, has made a quite a solo career for himself over the years. Person Pitch was a watershed moment his career and since, he’s released three critically acclaimed solo records. Sonic Boom has had quite a diverse track record. He originally gained fame with Spacemen 3 and has gone on to produce for MGMT, Beach House, and even two of Panda Bear’s solo records.
Combined, the two are a match made in sunny, 60s-inspired heaven. Reset wears its samples on its sleeve and the duo have never shied away from acknowledging the source material. In between the opener’s set and theirs, a playlist looped of every song that the tracks of Reset primarily sample. It was fascinating to hear the how subtle differences in structure can completely change the complexion of each song.
As mentioned, PB + SB played Reset from beginning to end and had accompanying visuals from Studio Sparks, a Portuguese studio that specializes in bringing the visual medium to music. The results were mesmerizing. Abstract designs morphed into a dancing interstellar figure which later morphed into visual motifs from the album art.
Panda Bear’s vocals are still as strong as ever after all these years. They’re often compared to Brian Wilson and that boy-ish optimism in his vocal strain comes to life in a live setting as well. In the encore, both Sonic Boom and Panda Bear played two tracks from their solo material. While the bones were there from their original tracks, you could see how their collaborative work has influenced how they perform their solo work too.
Panda Bear and Sonic Boom continue this tour by heading east and mainly hit festivals the rest of the year. Check out their respective websites for more information – here and here.
Photos + Review by Andrew Ameter | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!
