Bardo Pond - Bardo Pond

For their eighth studio album Bardo Pond once again bring out their sepia-toned psychedelia jams. Having experimented with various strains of psychedelic rock in the past, on this self-titled record they incorporate psych folk into their guitar freakouts. They even kick the album off with some acid-fried country on the opener ‘Just Once’, although the acoustic introduction is soon lost in a sea of distortion.

On a couple of tracks the folk element is explored over a longer period, creating mellow, spaced out trips. But that is not to say the band is getting soft after almost 20 years of playing together. The hard rock dirge of ‘Don’t Know About You’ fits the classic Bardo Pond sound and is much heavier than most of the material put out by other indie rock bands this year.

In the middle of the album is ‘Undone’, a slow builder coming in at over 20 minutes. As it reaches its end, volume and noise flood your senses, allowing the acid rock guitar lines to warp your subconscious. After this comes the two standout tracks on the record. First, the monstrous ‘Cracker Wrist’, which starts off with Mogwai-esque riffs but halfway through it suddenly turns into a different beast. The drums smash down as Isobel Sollenberger’s vocals soar above a weighty drone. After the song subsides, the 13-minute shoegaze epic ‘The Stars Behind’ begins. With all its cymbal crashes and cinematic guitars it would certainly satisfy any post-rock fans picking up the album.

Although Bardo Pond aren’t breaking any new ground in psychedelic rock, it is so satisfying to see a band sticking to the music they love and continuing to produce quality work. Especially in a genre full of hippy pretenders trying to get some sort of retro psych sound but ending up as a dull pastiche. Long live Bardo Pond.