POND is pouring up a piping hot groove in ‘America’s Cup’

POND is a cool band, and the Australian five-piece know it. The confidence to release music overflowing with swagger the way they have is only accessible to the special few who understand their massive potential.

Eight full-length releases in, POND sound as invigorated as ever over the nine and a half minutes of their new 2-track single ‘America’s Cup’, a bass-driven pair of summer bangers, part of the upcoming release ‘9’. Paired with vibrant B-Side ‘Pink Lunette’ the breezy release features the charismatic vocals and grooving basslines which are expected at this stage of the seasoned outfit’s career, though the real high point of the single arrives in the form of its second track.

Both tracks feed off each other very effectively, almost passable as a single extended track in an all-in-one listen. Separated, however, ‘Pink Lunette’ stands out as perhaps one of POND’s best across their extensive catalogue, seamlessly surfing from the sun-kissed waves of its verses’ tight groove, through the choppy refrain “I see her in pink lunette/I see her in pink lunette”, eventually stranded on the lonely island of its final minute and a half. Washed out in reverb and abrasive synth passages, Allbrook regretfully ponders the age-old questions of existence and generational divides with equal measures of sorrow and skill.

Their years of close proximity to fellow Australian pioneer Kevin Parker and participation in the wonderful works of Tame Impala are unashamedly on show across both tracks, a factor I am sure the band both accept and dispute at times. Yet regardless of this, POND continue to lead the way as a recognisable force in the psychedelic pop stratosphere. If ‘America’s Cup’ can whet the appetite as effectively for ‘9’ as its title track does for ‘Pink Lunette’, the world is in for a treat later this year.

Alex Lamont

@alex_lamont @ajlamont1

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pond_Primavera19_-134_(48985549838).jpg