POND

3.5 stars. I generally prefer dark and serious music to light and fun but if you like the latter then you need to check this album out. I mean just look at the picture of the band on the bio here in sunny Australia. We get two TAME IMPALA guys along with three others making this a five piece and four are multi-instrumentalists so three guitarists, three keyboardists, two bass players, well you get the picture. This band has released nine studio albums between 2009 and 2021 and many feel this is their best.

The biggest revelation when I started to spend some time with this album was how much I was reminded of KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD. The setup of multi-instrumentalists, the vocals, the sound at times. It got me excited because this is the first band that reminded me of KING GIZZARD and fellow Ozzies POND had to have been an influence. The opener "Waiting Around For Grace" you know the one with the pretty face along with the title track that closes the album standout head and shoulders above the rest. Two killer tunes but the rest is hit and miss for me hence the rating. Glad to have finally spent some time with this one and yes TAME IMPALA fans need to check this band out.

"Pond" is a Psychedelic/Space Rock band from Australia founded in 2008 by Nick Allbrook, Jay Watson (both from "Tame Impala"), and Joseph Ryan. Kevin Parker (on drums) joined the band in 2009, and from that time the band has released 8 albums which includes their latest (up to this point) "Tasmania" released in March of 2019. The line up for this album consists of the four mentioned above, Nick on vocals, guitar, slide guitar, keyboards, bass, flute and drums; Jay on guitar, vocals, drums, bass, keyboards and synthesizer; Joseph on guitar, 12 string guitar, slide guitar bass and vocals; and Kevin on production and mixing along with Jamie Terry on keyboards, synth, organ and bass; and James Ireland on drums. Guest musicians include 2 cellists, another drummer and a guitarist.

The music on this album is an interesting mix of bright pop and psychedelic rock. It has an alternative vibe to it all, but there is that hazy feel to it that suggests a psychedelic sound. The music uses a heavy amount of electronics and synthesizers with processed sound from other instruments that make for a unique sound. The brightness of the music makes is sound cheery, but the lyrics don't necessarily match that positive sound. Vocals are raspy but melodic and appealing, and there are often echo effects and an airy timbre to them. There are similarities to other bands like "MGMT", "Of Montreal" and even "The Flaming Lips" in that there is that pop sound, but it's not really typical because there is the underlying psychedelic sound and the melodies are a bit more complex.

The music on "Tasmania" is much more groove oriented than on most of their previous albums with solid beats and constant manipulation with the instruments and riffs to keep things unique. There is a danceable feel to the first 4 tracks, but each still feel unique. There is some variation here too, not everything is an upbeat track as is the case with "Hand Mouth Dancer" which uses a more moderate, yet still funky groove with deep synths, and has a more emotional sound in the vocals and a stately riff. The sound changes about halfway in the track as things become beautifully lush and then a steady beat takes hold as a chopped up keyboard melody comes in. "Goodnight P.C.C." goes off in a more experimental direction during the instrumental breaks and a sparse percussive beat during the vocals keep this track more in the psychedelic genre than the pop genre. As it continues, the electronic manipulation gives it all a dreamy quality that is quite nice.

"Burnt Out Star" is the longest track here at over 8 minutes, and it is definitely a lush yet trippy sound with some amazing harmonics and very minimal percussion as it feels more like a free floating track. Soon an electronic beat gets established as synth washes ebb and flow around you and the echoing vocals seem almost random also become part of the atmosphere of the track. Just before the 6 minute mark, a heavy rhythm section makes the track suddenly more tight and intense.

This trippy, yet somewhat poppy sound continues through the rest of the album. The music is thick in electronics and synthesizers, but retains that lush and psychedelic sound throughout, even in the R&B influenced "Selene" which also featured layered guitars in the instrumental break. It is understandable, because of the hazy feel of the album, that it would be included in the Psychedelic genre, but just know that even though the album has this pop vibe, that it is still complex and unique enough to keep the prog heads interested. Even though the first part of the album has a danceable vibe to it, it veers away from this after the first four tracks, but even those songs are unique and interesting in their own way. The production and mixing on this album is quite amazing also, it seems like a lot of work went into this album, making it accessible, but not totally commercial, and best of all, very unique. The music is very colorful, just like the album cover.

Pond, formed by a former Tame Impala member, has been half-jokingly self-described as "a joke" and just plain every rock cliche there ever was, but what I can say with conviction is that Pond is one of the greatest bands out there right now. This album, their crowning achievement so far, is a fun, beautiful, and enjoyable walking tour of every great trend in neo-psychedelia, from the '80's alt rock leaning, Bunnymen and Spacemen sounding styles, through '90's era Spiritualized, and into the modern indie psych of The Flaming Lips, Electric Wurms, MGMT, and of course Impala themselves, including their wilder, more experimental sides. This is all smashingly played in the prog idiom, wonderfully mixing and matching these varying styles and never having a dull moment. This goes from the expected easy-then-wild guitars and ethereal vocals to unexpected keyboard freakouts and short bursts of concrete. The eclecticism really makes the record so fascinating, and yet it this will always sound like Pond, much the way Floyd was always Floyd. Has immediately become a front-runner for album of the year 2015, highly, highly recommended.

This is certainly a wonderful album for orientating oneself to another hippie spring revelation. The music of the record evocates itself to the airwaves as a formless cosmic entity, reminding the 1970's Hawkwind brutal rock beatings with atonal sonic decorations. Melodic forms start taking shape via twists slightly similar from Pink Floyd's debut album, but with more aggressive intensity and modern sound orientation towards post-psychedelic oppressive impressions. Songs of this album carry forward an interesting feeling of schizophrenia, as they seem to synthesize both soothing and disturbing elements to a convincing solid aural appearance. Composed melodic patterns oscillate through blurring surfaces of deep space psychedelia, and the guitar sounds habiting quite heavy planes of distortion and attack. Though the two bands I here referred have thousands of clone groups, I think on basis of this recording the musicians of Pond have managed to create a personal sound, locating neatly to the tastes of 1960's garage / hippie rock album spinners, 1970's space rockers and also 21st century schizoid men's stoner rock appreciations. Most possibly a petal of wide enthusiasm of musical styles and well working collaboration with all players involved. Will certainly do further record procurements of this band's albums, which I understood would have curves to different leanings on both improvised disappearances in the ozone and more thoughtfully produced psych-pop straits.

When prolific psychedelic pop musicians are going crazy (a bit) ... eh ... what should be expected then afterwards? POND is related to the Australian band Tame Impala, due to the fact that multi-instrumentalists Nick Allbrook and Jay Watson as well as occasionally drummer Kevin Parker were, respectively are, active for both bands. Now Allbrock seems to have quit his collaboration with Tame Impala completely though in the meanwhile. Anyhow, with good reason you still can say that POND is the experimental incarnation of both, also equipped with a progressive rock signature more distinctly.

Where I find the 2010 'Corridors Of Blissterday' recordings way more space rock and jam oriented, all their albums have a common ground more or less, the affinity to the early Syd Barrett coloured Pink Floyd, which is occasionally shimmering through. With a running time of 34 minutes approximately 'Hobo Rocket' does not belong to the opulent exemplars of course, not a surprise really on the other hand, when you have a look at the other albums.

This is strictly song oriented, I mean there's any kind of jam approach missing on this occasion, however music offered with proper finesse. The album's kick off forces headbanging while showing a heavy energetic expression with Whatever Happened To The Million Head Collide and Xanman. But soon they provide other features with the lovely floating O Dharma - a slight oriental touch, and the vocals are simply fantastic, this mirrors a typical late 60's vibe.

Underlayed by dramatic organ and heavy guitar riffs Aloneaflameaflower gets close to some Black Sabbath doom sentiment where the album title track on the other hand, though surely experimental, is not able to light my fire (yet). Featuring intriguing multi-layered guitar work the closing krautrock iinfluenced Midnight Mass may be considered as another highlight. Tending towards a more heavy psychedelic mode of expression this time, POND have delivered another respectable output in 2013 - 3.5 stars.