Pond are making waves again
 |
|
Good mates … Pond have smashed out six albums in six years. Picture: Supplied.
Source: Supplied
IT isn’t a stretch to imagine the appeal of Footloose to the lads of psychedelic genre-benders Pond.
Surely the instant hook of last year’s single Elvis’ Flaming Star is a homage to the theme song from the 30-year-old Kevin Bacon flick.
But no, it’s all just a pop culture coincidence.
“I had to look (the song) up after someone mentioned Footloose,” Pond co-founder Jay Watson says.
“A few years ago I would have been embarrassed about that but we have had way more cheesier references than that.
“There was a French review that said about one of my songs it was a Lenny Kravitz cauchemar, which translates to Lenny Kravitz nightmare. Good ol’ Lenny, he’s all right.”
Watson and his band mates Joe Ryan and Nick Allbrook then enjoy sharing the infamous Lenny Kravitz full-body scarf photo that broke the internet a couple of years ago.
They are well-connected to the zeitgeist despite Pond being one of the few bands on the planet which has created its own musical universe.
Their new record Man It Feels Like Space Again, is their sixth in as many years since forming in 2008.
While often referred to as a Tame Impala side-project because of shared members and the production contribution of that band’s frontman Kevin Parker, Pond is a different beast.
And it’s a wild beast that shifts identity not only between records but also between songs.
Pond may be genuinely impressive live but as a headphones listen, they are epically mind-blowing with even the most straight-ahead rock songs revealing accidental quirks or deliberate mistakes.
Man It Feels Like Space Again is also somewhat of a reaction against their previous record Hobo Rocket.
“We do new records because we feel like there’s something to make amends for after the last one,” Watson says, only partly joking.
“Sorry About the Last One, maybe that should be a title.”
Frontman Allbrook credits instrument moderation for the point of difference.
“I think we got better on this album at being economic with the instruments that were around,” he says.
“With past ones, if it didn’t sound right, we would be ‘let’s put another guitar on’. And then another one.”
The truth is they don’t really think that hard about the why of Pond.
The core trio of the band are best mates — and good friends with everyone the band works with on the studio and stage fronts — and that reality governs their creative and business endeavours.
As Ryan says, if it’s fun they will do it. If it doesn’t sound like something that amuses or excites them, they don’t do it.
But listening to previous Pond albums could leave the listener wondering if it is all some elaborate private joke.
Hits and giggles … Pond use the fun barometer to determine what works for them. Picture: Supplied.
Source: Supplied
Man It Feels Like Space Again sounds like they are letting the listener in on the punchlines.
“There are a few inside jokes going on,” Watson says.
“The only reason we do this is because we have the best time with each other. It’s an excuse to spend time with each other, to make something bigger than yourself with your mates.”
Another part of their appeal is good ol’ Australian larrikinism.
Just scan the song titles. And in the middle, you get to a gem. Heroic Shart.
“We get away with calling a song Heroic Shart when the song has nothing to do with heroic sharts or anything really. And you call it that just to remind yourself and each other that you’ve got control over things. We can give songs stupid names,” Allbrook says.
And, like most blokes, they can’t help attempting to sabotage their deep and meaningful music moments.
Their rock, psychedelic and funk fusion experiments also give way to some quite lovely heart-on-sleeve songs including Holding Out For You and the sublime Sitting Up On Our Crane.
Ryan and Watson have been explaining the album as reflecting the all-night party conversations you have with your best mates.
The first four hours of the party you are talking about nothing but in the early hours of the morning, inevitably the conversation switches to more existential matters.
Curable romantics … Jay Watson, Joe Ryan and Nick Allbrook counter tender songs with goofy funk. Picture: Supplied.
Source: Supplied
“Joe keeps saying this too but if you were to sum up hanging out with your friends during the course of a night and turn it into music, it wouldn’t sound like Leonard Cohen,” Watson says.
“After four hours of talking about, I don’t know, the Kardashians, you spend four hours talking about why God may or may not exist or your toxic boyfriend.
“So we have two or three quite earnest songs in a row and then you get a song like Outside Is the Right Side, this Michael Jackson party funk song that isn’t really about anything.”
Allbrook adds: “Exactly, that’s our Seinfeld song. It’s not quite as genius as Seinfeld. .I really got into that show when I realised that it was a really powerful mirror for humanity. It’s not just about nothing.”
Considering the fact that critics throughout the world will be trying to find a deeper meaning to Pond’s latest collection of tunes proves equally amusing.
“I just hope you can hear us having fun. The real joke is that we’re still together and this is album No. 6,” Ryan says.
HEAR: Man It Feels Like Space Again is out tomorrow.
SEE: Pond, Laneway Festival, Brisbane Showgrounds, January 31, Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle, Sydney, February 1, Corner Hotel, Melbourne, February 3, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, February 5, Harts Mill, Port Adelaide, February 6, Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC) And The River’s Edge, Melbourne, February 7, Esplanade Reserve And West End, Fremantle, February 8.
