Pond is an Perth-based Australian band composed of Tame Impala members Nick Allbrook and Jay Watson, along with collaborator Joseph Ryan. Coming from humble beginnings on local Perth label Badminton Bandit, their lo-fi bedroom recordings Psychedlic Mango, Corridors of Blissterday and Frond were all woozy psychedelic ramblings, providing the same lethargic sense of delight one might find on a lazy afternoon.
Yet despite moving to major label Modular (home to indie heavyweights like Cut Copy and Architecture in Helsinki), Pond appears to have opted out of a pop-friendly debut, instead moving straight into the bearded, reclusive stage many bands fall prey to. In fact, Bear, Wives, Denim was literally born out of exactly the kind of idyllic, nature-discovering sessions one would expect from such a musical approach; the band recorded the album in an old country farmhouse.
Mixed by Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker at Poon’s Head Studio in Perth, Beard, Wives, Denim is more tightly crafted than would be expected from these perpetually tripped out Aussie jammers. These songs might lack the refined professionalism of Tame Impala, but it’s clear Pond is stepping out of their smoke-filled bedroom and taking things a bit more seriously.
First track “Fantastic Explosion Of Time” starts out as a fun and nostalgic ode to ’60s-style psychedelic rock, using distorted, fuzzy vocals over garage style strums. It transitions gracefully into next song “When It Explodes,” a more mellow, nonchalant take on psych rock, complete with slowed down, spacey interludes.
The ’60s influence continues on “Sorry I Was Under The Sky” (more British Mod than Allman Brothers, this time), and the vocals lead the track along a trippy blissful journey. This track, like many on the album, is the perfect soundtrack to warm summer days and spaced-out forest journeys.
Beard, Wives, Denim still very much captures the ethos of Pond — three friends under a mulberry tree in Western Australia on an endless jam fest — but this record proves that sometimes hippies need to stop kissing the sky and get grounded; with the studio setup and more focused attention, Pond has made their best record yet. (7/10)
