Panda Bear & Sonic Boom Reunite For New Album ‘A ? Of When’

Animal Collective's Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) and British producer/musician Sonic Boom (Pete Kember) teamed back up for their second collaborative album, A ? of When, arriving on July 10 via Domino. The duo previewed the album today with the title track.

A ? of When follows Panda Bear and Sonic Boom’s 2022 debut collab Reset. The new record sees the pair continuing their exploration of seemingly disparate sounds but also making a conscious effort to disconnect, with songs that “grapple with online exhaustion and pervasive depression, with political chicanery and ecological sustainability,” as per a press release.

Panda Bear and Sonic Boom shared a statement detailing A ? of When:

Change. Exciting & frightening at the same time. The slow slips & the big shifts. Highs & lows from the distraction of connectivity.

AI slop becomes an AI slope. Algorithm tables & algorithms tumble.

We’re taking things a little off piste.

More rock n’ roll than flick & scroll…

From here on in we’re getting back to a place of real connectivity and as you might have noticed from our new “Graveyard”/”Lucky Charm” 7″ (only available from record stores) there’s no streaming, no videos, and a minimisation of online everything.

Going forward we’re looking to radio, live shows, listening parties, Q&A sessions & real life interactions to get back to a place we feel makes more sense.

To that end, we’re asking you to join us offline, outside of social media. To meet us in the real world. IRL not URL…

Guests on the record include Mexico City’s Mariachi 2000 de Cutberto-Pérez a group they worked with on a remix of Reset along with harpist Mary Lattimore, British multi-instrumentalist Daniel O’Sullivan and “Steel Witch” Zena Kay on pedal steel guitar.

Panda Bear and Sonic Boom previously previewed A ? of When with a 7′ vinyl released as a Record Store Day exclusive featuring two tracks set to appear on the new album, “Graveyard” and “Lucky Charm.” As the duo noted in their statement, A ? of When will arrive via more physical formats including vinyl, CD, cassette and download, available via Domino Mart and Bandcamp. The album will not be available for streaming on release date.

Follow this link to download the A ? of When title track.

A ? of When Tracklist:

1. Never givin’ in
2. Lucky Charm
3. Revive him
4. Something like dreaming
5. A ? of WHEN
6. Pray to you
7. Be the bridge
8. Like a moth to the flame
9. Somethin’ that lasts
10. Graveyard