Pond - Hobo Rocket

Pond first bubbled into life, allegedly underneath a Mulberry tree, a mere five years ago. Since that first conversation about alchemising magical psychedelia, the band have released four albums. ‘Hobo Rocket’ is their fifth. That’s a stream of constant activity that has only been surpassed by Rihanna and her #777 antics as of late.

Pond aren’t album machines, though. Listening to this latest release you get the feeling that these songs have spontaneously poured forth by themselves, as if they could no longer be contained. At times, ‘Hobo Rocket’ is so urgent and immediate that it becomes an unstoppable force. Whilst last year’s ‘Beard Wives Denim’ spangled with irresistibly overwrought glamour and soaring melodies, the follow-up is darker, rawer, and at times brutally intense.

Opening track ‘Xan Man’ springs forth from a cacophony of freewheeling cymbals and buzzing guitar, eventually looping into a mental, trippy vortex. Nick Allbrook embellishes the killer chorus with yelps and screams, and the song seems timeless, borrowing heavily from the likes of Roky Erickson, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Pond takes the past and deep-fries it in space-age tempura batter. Whether the title is a nod to anti-anxiety drug Xanax or not, it’s certainly hallucinogenic songwriting.

‘Odarma’ and ‘Alone A Flame Or Flower’ are strange and otherworldly too; but far more introspective. Ritualistic chants ebb lightly over the top of lackadaisical rhythms, before exploding with panache to make way for a yowling Allbrook. There’s even a didgeridoo sample for Pete’s sake. Pond have never sounded more insane and off their rocker, and it’s truly, absolutely, stunningly brilliant to listen to.

‘Giant Tortoise’ oozes richness, and when the guitar sound comes in, sounding like an amplifier being fed through a filter of somebody playing the comb kazoo, it’s goosebump-creating stuff. The bass is so powerful it sounds like somebody is standing on top of the Grand Canyon and throwing each note down to ping off the walls, sending red dust flying at every contact.

‘Hobo Rocket’ is a rather brief album, over in just half an hour. It rushes along with the pace of a live show, but it has the finesse and the sheer sound quality of a carefully assembled album. Listening to Pond always feels like picking up a dusty old vinyl from Jefferson Airplane or Can, and discovering a slant that makes you fall headlong in love with music all over again. Allbrook, Watson, Avery, Ryan, and Terry clearly grow newly infatuated with music every time they play a note – ‘Hobo Rocket’ is a genuinely believable, and extremely successful celebration.