POND
Man It Feels Like Space Again
Caroline
”Soulful pop in a seashell dress, except the sea in question is the one from that bit in ‘Interstellar’ on the perpetual wave-machine planet.” – anonymous
That is just one way that the new offering from big ol’ buddy pals POND has been described to me since its release. It sounds like the sonic interpretation of having a really great time with some close friends, except that you all have the ability to transform into lava-lamps, and that’s what you do all night, every night for a week straight.
Three tracks into ‘MIFLSA’ (as I call it) you’ve been dragged aboard the Pond Rocket depicted on the cover and are heading into uncharted cosmic territory that somehow still feels like a sofa bed in your cool friend’s mum’s basement. Friendly, but slick grooves are split up by oases that float you down gently from the sonic equivalent of the East Australian Current (as seen in the 2003 computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film ‘Finding Nemo’), and out into tepid waters, where you can look back and have bit of a think.
Penultimate track ‘Medicine Hat’, however, sounds like something off Exile On Main St that was recorded in the bottom hull of the aforementioned Pond Rocket as it soars past Saturn. Other highlights include an insanely cool guitar sound in the second quarter of the behemoth title track that figure skates right over your shoulder and into your heart.
All in all, this album is pretty nuts and pretty great. The fact the centerpiece of the album is called ‘Heroic Shart’ basically sums it up – don’t take it too seriously and that makes the quasi-cosmic journey all the more fun.
Charlie Pelling
