Pond ★★★★
Stung!
SPINNING TOP. CD/LP
Tenth album from rapidly evolving Australians.
They began as a Perth psychedelia act, moved into Tame Impala’s orbit (Jay Watson somehow manages to drum for both bands) and their most recent album, 9, finally took Pond to the Australian Top 10. What now? It’s complicated. Citing Tusk and Sign O’ The Times, they’ve gone down what used to be called the sprawling double album route with a 14-song whirlwind of dazzling approaches. There’s So Lo’s Prince-like guitar introduction, but the eight minutes of Edge Of The World Pt. 3 begins with a drone organ and ends in kitchen-sink wonder. The instrumental Elf Bar Blues would have settled snugly into Giorgio Moroder’s Midnight Express soundtrack, O UV Ray almost drowns in its own harmonies, and the near title track (I’m) Stung is a pop stomper. Like the best double albums, all rock life is here.