The obvious answer to what frame of mind are you missing here is that you have to actually like the genre of music Pet Sounds is working in relation to.
Andyway, it’s worth noting that critical admiration for Pet Sounds only emerged about 20 years after it came out, so lots of the discussion of ‘at the time’ effects on critics doesn’t fit that directly.
The obvious answer to what frame of mind are you missing here is that you have to actually like the genre of music Pet Sounds is working in relation to.
Andyway, it’s worth noting that critical admiration for Pet Sounds only emerged about 20 years after it came out, so lots of the discussion of ‘at the time’ effects on critics doesn’t fit that directly.