Pond, the Perth space cadets that share lineage with Tame Impala, are back in quick time with their 5th album, Hobo Rocket. Although sharing bloodlines with Tame Impala has no doubt boosted their profile, Pond has their own identity and the ample talent to hold their own within the psych-rock field, becoming far more than just a loosely conceived side project. In fact they’ve been around and kicking since about 2008 and really hit their straps with last year’s excellent Beard, Wives, Denim album. Although Hobo Rocket doesn’t quite best its excellent predecessor for stand-alone tunes, it still delivers the goods with a deft balance of fuzzy, spaced-out psychedelia and brash rock ‘n’ roll swagger.
Hobo Rocket features plenty of trippy moments that squarely places them in the psychedelic rock realm. However, there’s a great deal of cohesion to the song-writing and straight-forward rock jamming to be found as well. Bluesy, glam and stoner elements spice things up, adding to the feel-good vibe and vibrant colours of the album. Pond sounds like a bunch of laidback dudes with strong chemistry and a unified musical vision, jamming out and having the time of their lives in playing the music that they love. And that sense of ‘fun’, coupled with their playful, pop-tinged psych-rock and top notch instrumental chops, gives Pond much of the character that makes them such a joy to rock out to.
At a touch over 34 minutes and containing a mere seven tracks, Pond deliver a concise album that’s only occasionally guilty of meandering. Mostly the band keep the more exploratory aspects of their music to a minimum, ensuring they don’t drift too far away into aimless or self-indulgent territory. ‘Whatever Happened to the Million Head Collide’ swells from sparse, quiet beginnings into a thumping, multi-layered wig-out. The song features a catchy main riff, busy drumming and a powerhouse extended jam, opening the album in confident style. The catchy swing of the occasionally repetitive ‘Xan Man’ comes drenched in a funk and blues glaze, with a loose garage rock groove and addictive vocal hooks supplied by frontman Nick Allbrook.
The sublime ‘Odarma’ reveals the band’s softer side, as the smooth vocal melodies and versatile, poppier edges of their sonic palate come to the fore. Acoustic guitar, synths and Pink Floyd-esque atmospherics burst into a colourfully dreamy groove that wouldn’t be out of place on Lonerism. It’s a great change-up that highlights the variation and unpredictability of Pond’s song-writing. Although it only just cracks the four minute mark, ‘Giant Tortoise’ has an epic feel with its exploratory nature, clever pacing and ethereal soundscapes, grounded by a coherent structure. ‘Midnight Mass’ ends the album with a twisting, contorting arrangement that covers significant ground musically. The song teeters on the edge of being disjointed, before the band skilfully holds it together to finish the album on a delirious high.
Pond are a hell of a fun band to jam out to, and regardless of whether they release anything truly mind-blowing down the track, Hobo Rocket represents another engaging chapter in their short but prolific career.
7.5/10
Reviewer: Luke Saunders