Pond are a band with an unusual balance of form and content; as their music becomes more polished and carefully crafted, their philosophies lean toward being a little more bent, and this pattern can be clearly observed on 2019's
Tasmania. On the surface, most of the tunes on
Tasmania are state of the art contemporary pop with a slight retro bent, dominated by smooth synthesizer lines, perky rhythms, and airy but soulful vocals. It's a product that sounds perfectly radio-ready (or at least would have been in the '90s) until you listen a bit closer and focus on the curious electronic squalls on "The Boys Are Killing Me," the clouds of atmospheric static in "Doctor's In," and "Goodnight P.P.C.," and the chaos lurking behind the dance-friendly rhythms of "Sixteen Days." And then there are the lyrics, where they ponder washed up celebrities ("Burnt Out Star"), looking for a good place to wait out the eventual apocalypse ("Tasmania"), and regret in a number of forms ("Shame"), and that's not counting the tunes where the message is not especially clear. But
Pond manage to make this balancing act seem simple because they're admirably skilled at both sides of the formula -- the music is effective and satisfying regardless of the level of quirkiness (they have a consistently strong talent for cutting a potent groove), and they make their eccentricities work in their favor rather than just boosting their "interesting" quotient. Their sometimes colleague from
Tame Impala, Kevin Parker, has done a fine job of capturing all of this as co-producer, but it's
Pond's personality that shines brightest on
Tasmania, and they've turned these songs into an off-kilter gem that's worth exploring. ~ Mark Deming