Composed of two founding members of Australian Psychedelic band Tame Impala, Pond are a truly amazing band that reinvigorate the psychedelic rock sound of the 60's. Their new album, written in two weeks and produced by Tame Impala leader and musical genius Kevin Parker, is a true modern masterpiece that incorporates traditional rock forms with truly astounding jams. They sound like the outcome of Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix and early Black Sabbath having a threesome. A truly awesome band where you can tell every member is as important as the last, they are bringing back Rock with a trippy side note.
Now Tame Impala is a phenomenal band. Yet 'band' isn't really a relevant term as the until the most recent album, lead singer/songwriter/lead guitarist Kevin Parker has written every single one of their songs since their creation (and every instrument). This song epitomises his brilliance. Bright organs, shimmering synths, catchy bass lines, the song is so melodious, it's like honey. Parker is master of melodies and the seemingly never-ending choruses never repeat themselves and when the song actually does finish, you can't help but play it again. One reviewer described his voice as sounding like John Lennon's voice stuck in a jar of reverb and it's a deserved comparison. Additionally, if John Lennon had ever sang on Pink Floyd's first album, this is what it would of sounded like. Parker's genius extends to such extents that, it almost sounds like he self taught every member of Pond and the other members of Tame Impala. Essentially, this is a really good song.
There's only one adjective I can think of to describe this song. Ethereal. When I first heard it, I wasn't that convinced to be honest but it was one of those songs I knew I had to give a second listen to truly appreciate. Having known his work for some time, I was used to MMOTHS typical chill wave style which was good, but nothing that exciting. Then this came out with his first commercial release and it showed how much he'd developed as a producer in about a year. One thing that adds so much to the song is a particular synth. One friend described it as like a ping pong match in a cave reverb and he's right. To be so brilliantly produced that it sounds like something that natural albeit strange shows the genius of the song.
Out of all the songs I've so far posted, this is the only which I've been lucky enough to see live. And as expected, it was exceptional. Grimes, a.k.a Claire Boucher, is a Canadian electro pop artist who "future pop". Whatever that really means, it kind of makes sense when listening to her music. She has a number of influences ranging from hip-hop, industrial and even Mariah Carey yet sounds like none of this. As Jean Luc Goddard said: "It's not where you take things, it's where you take things to"which perfectly summarises her music. You can tell where she's coming from but what's great about her is that her eccentricity and unconventionality makes the next song she writes impossible to predict. Looping pianos, Annie Lennox style vocals and layer and layer of reverberating synths all overlap to create a truly exquisite but also entertaining song. However, I may be slightly biased, but the Queen of Hipsters cannot be bad mouthed.
1/ Peace - 1998
This is by far, the best song I've heard all year and possibly one of the best songs I've heard in a while. The song is a cover of a Trane track called "1998", that's right, Trance. It's starts fairly slowly and quietly and slightly disorganised yet leads into one of the most powerful build-ups of all time. The result? A finely crafted song that lasts over 10 minutes with so many distinguishable parts that never leads towards boredom or repetition (even the second buildup is essentially the same yet the subtle inclusion of synths give it that extra momentous touch). It's ethereal, human and fundamentally epic (in the truest form of the word). It actually makes Trance sound appealing and I hate Trance music with a passion. With a full album out next year, I can't wait to hear a full album of this sort of material and might even compare to such greats as Foals or Radiohead.
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