The Perth, Western Australia-based Pond has been incredibly prolific in the years since they formed (especially considering some members split time with Tame Impala), releasing eight studio albums since 2009. Their ninth, the not very creatively titled 9, finds the band throwing it all on the dance floor for this collection of tunes.
Pond has shifted gears as 9 is the first album original drummer and more recent producer/mixer Kevin Parker is not working with the band. This goes around the group, Nick Allbrook, Jay “Gumby” Watson, Shiny Joe Ryan, Jamie Terry, and James Ireland, have delivered a fevered 80’s new wave-inspired album that puts away rock notions and pumps the synths and electro pulses.
Stemming from quarantine stir craziness, the record bounds around, opening on a high note with the prog/glam/pulsing “Song For The Ages” which recalls both David Bowie and INXS and shoots for the cosmos with success. After the grandiose opener, 9 descends into a fog of hazy late-night dance floor numbers which are hit and miss, on the plus side, “Human Touch” amps the slamming techno pent up energy, calling out for true connection/contact on that flashing bump and grind platform while “America’s Cup” uses the after-party bass bump/synth flourishes to get industrially funky before the building “Czech Locomotive”, which could be played as the dramatic finale for a sci-fi coming of age movie.
Unfortunately, the biggest misses are at the heart of the album, as the over-long and manic “Pink Lunettes” is crazed from a bad drug trip or just 18 months cooped up, pin-balling around searching for meaning with grating lyrics. The throwing in the ever-sound-going hyperactivity of the over-the-top drama “Rambo” also stumbles. These songs are the most extended offerings and drag, even as Pond tries to overload things with chaotic excess.
Better is the neon blazing, new wave ready, “Take Me Avalon I’m Young” which displays formula/tempo changes and a sense of warmth, as well as the closing dynamo titled “Toast”. The finale recalls the opener with a swirling mix of electro, longing, and strings, pedal-affected guitars and keyboards, doing an admirable job recalling the best of Pink Floyd but skewed through a modern filter, bookending the shaky 9 on an exhilarating note.
