Australian psych band Pond yesterday released a new single, ‘Burnt Out Star’, as well as a run of North American tour dates. Check out the song below:
At over eight minutes, the new track sees the Aussie rockers continuing their experimentation with vintage drum machines, synthesisers and multi-part harmonies. Over a rich backing comprising glockenspiels, reverbed organ and delicate guitar phrasing, Allbrook’s strained and passionate vocal tells a Springsteen-style tale of a fading female celebrity seeking redemption. In the outro, Pond switch up the volume with a dense and multi-layered electronic wash, not unlike a 2018 ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’.
Heavily associated with fellow Aussie band Tame Impala, Pond is led by Nick Allbrook – their former touring bassist – and Jay Watson, their current touring keyboardist. Kevin Parker, the Brian Wilson figure behind Tame Impala, used to drum for the band and now serves as their producer.
Pond last year released The Weather to critical acclaim and some commercial attention. The record was described by Allbrook as “a concept album, not completely about Perth, but focusing on all the weird contradictory things that make up a lot of colonial cities around the world. Laying out all the dark things underneath the shimmering exterior of cranes, development, money and white privilege. It’s not our place, but it is our place.”
On their upcoming tour of North America in the autumn, the band will make appearances at Desert Daze and the Treasure Island Festival in California, before making their way through Canada and finishing up in Mexico City in mid-November. See their full itinerary and get tickets here.