REVIEW: Panda Bear / Sonic Boom - The Box, Fargo Village

With the universe still reverberating from the mental and emotional effects of Covid/lockdowns, similar struggles of the soul and mind experienced via wars and rumours of wars plus social media battles that rage on in the palm of our hands, relief from these savage extremities is overly welcome.

Enter stage left Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear and Peter Kember aka Sonic Boom who unleashed in August 2022 the album of the year, Reset, via Domino Recordings. A long player full of spectacular expansive, sweeping highs, a musical expedition into explorative expansive soundscapes, pastoral vocals plus dips and dives into futuristic electronic music heaven mixing the best bits of Pet Sounds, Velvet Underground/Nico and BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the finished results is a special formula of beauteous meticulous melodies for the modern age.

Tonight, the illusive pair make their home for the night in the spaceaged The Box, Fargo Village, Coventry. Situated in a thriving community with a new venue at its heart, tonight’s event is a tableau many have been waiting for with eagerness. The lightshow is something aka 14 Hour Technicolor Dream extravaganza, with the full Reset album at the sets heart, proceeding with Getting’ To The Point, the pair immediately get to work on their gadgets to hand. A tweak here, push of the button there, a circus whistle blown, a cowbell thwacked, its acutely alluring witnessing and waiting for what sound vibrations will be dispatched next.

The collected masses are bathed in the stupefying spellbinding ghostly Kraftwerk-esque Go On; Velvet Underground spliced with Sapcemen 3 Everyday; the ingenuity and inventiveness of Beach Boys tinged Edge Of The Edge; outer body psych In My Body; plus brisk 60’s flavour of Danger, witnessing the duo in the flesh delivering these hallowed sounds is spellbinding, the Sunday Parish enthusiastically laud each track with loud applause. There are added bonuses at the close of set, highlights include Just A Little Piece Of Me, The Preakness and Tropic Of Cancer.

Over and above my personal favourite concert I’ve attended. EVER, for many reasons, the main being the music. Musical relief for many has been their saviour in the past few years, Panda Bear and Sonic Boom, its hoped, will create further life savers in years to come.

Reset can be purchased here