When I was 13, my friend had this much older brother that lived in the basement and drove a Camaro. He didn't seem to have a job or even really a shirt, but he had that Camaro and he had a treasure chest full of old Playboys that was right next to a freezer full of frozen burritos, so not having a shirt or fixed income seemed pretty unimportant to me when you could be as cool as this guy seemed without those things. I often wonder what happened to him. Is he still living in that basement? (Probably not.) Does he still have that Camaro? (Probably not.) Did the inevitable, crushing financial reality of the real world ever set in and force him to cut his hair, get a couple shirts and go to work? (Probably). Whenever I'd go over to their house, he'd mostly keep us at arm's length, but sometimes he'd take us to and from the record store. That was enough for me. He told us what albums to buy (anything that came out on Estrus Records) and laughed if we liked the wrong era of Black Flag. He was one of those guys I hope still exists, so that some other impressionable teenagers can learn about how being kinda crusty for a little bit is a key part of self-discovery if you happen to be a certain kind of person. And, hey— if that period of self-discovery happens when you're in your mid-30s, well alright, ride it out.
Pond—a sometimes psychedelic, sometimes completely sincere, sometimes trashy, sometimes cerebral, sometimes sarcastic rock band—are part of the Perth scene that birthed Tame Impala (they also share a few members). They record constantly and schizophrenically, filtering just about every genre of music through decadent cosmic synths and chunky guitar solos. Live, it's pretty much all fun, but on record there's something a little deeper at play. "Giant Tortoise" feels reverent to a whole history of big-bearded psych rock jams—but it doesn't get too caught up in itself, instead going for stadium-sized bliss and a cathartic closer that'd even impress the Camaro basement guy. Pond's album Hobo Rocket (that name) is out this Spring on Modular. Stream the track below and download it with a mailing list signup right here.
Download: Pond, "Giant Tortoise"
