Album Review: Pond - Tasmania
Pond's continued existence a decade after their debut is both confusing and inspiring. The Australian psychedelic rock outfit shares multiple band members with Tame Impala, an often similar-sounding and yet much more commercially successful venture ever since their debut in 2010 with Innerspeaker, so it is not always clear why Pond didn't simply dissolve into different acts, or perhaps decide to tour as 'Tame Impala and Friends'. But while Tasmania almost seems to embrace the latter aesthetic, it is simultaneously a stunning reassurance to fans that Pond has its own distinct flavour, and despite some questionable releases in the past, their sound still has its place.
This perplexing duality plays heavily into the sound of Tasmania, which prominently displays its influences throughout, one of which is the sound of Tame Impala's 2015 record Currents. The smoother, more upbeat synth-pop style of that album is more than apparent on many tracks here, such as Sixteen Days and The Boys Are Killing Me; to the record's benefit, largely, as even if it is less than original, the vibe from front to back is dreamy, synthetic, and immensely enjoyable. The eight-minute psychedelic trip Burnt Out Star, meanwhile, owes more to David Bowie than just its title: the powerful vocals, oddly catchy guitar melodies, and overall spacey atmosphere would sound right at home on Low or Heroes, and the lyrics are similarly powerful: "Oh, perfect body that they'll never tear apart/First they'll have to tear my head from your heart".
The synth-shredding riff that forms the backbone of Hand Mouth Dancer is infectious, and knows enough to transition into a groovy breakdown by the time it begins to wear thin. A similar line closes out the title track, but that moment is preceded by a more toned-down experience, full of cheery percussion and a slick bass line creating something more akin to synth funk while one's ears are drowned in lyrics about the difficulty of being an Australian citizen thrust into fame in a foreign country. The disparity between the optimistic production and lines like "Just another antipodean/But to Americans, I'm an alien" is delightfully sincere.
Occasionally, however, Pond's attempts to create an effectively psychedelic experience fall flat, be it because they cannot fully recreate the splendor of other bands or because they themselves are simply not distinct enough. Shame is little more than a five-minute meandering slog, too slow to be amusing and too safe to come off as truly experimental. The synthetic noises alternating between channels is more distracting that anything else, and the vocals come through too plainly to sound dynamic, and instead settle for irritating. Speaking of, the singing across this album is consistently less than polished and bordering on annoying, a problem that is sometimes drowned in filters and ample instrumentation to the point where it is not noticeable, but elsewhere is painfully evident and takes away from the bright and relaxing production.
While not at all surprising considering the place it holds in Pond's career (and, indeed, the careers of its members), Tasmania is far from the most original album in its genre, and is not exactly an incredibly compelling listen because of it. Many who would enjoy this sound would probably find themselves, at some point in its runtime, wishing to turn on a Tame Impala record instead, something with a bit more consistency and more ambitious visions. Yet there is still much to enjoy here; if Currents is a psychedelic trip that makes one question their views on music, then this is at least something nice to pass out on the couch to.
7/10
Favourite Tracks: Hand Mouth Dancer, Burnt Out Star, Tasmania
https://open.spotify.com/album/4K7jmZcYAmNlKdIxqKUbH6?si=ueHS-az1To66TgdKkJrttQ