NEW RELEASE OF THE WEEK POND – STUNG! The members of Pond first came to prominence as Kevin Parker’s backing band when he took Tame Impala out on the road, but they’ve gone on to become one of Australia’s finest psych bands in their own right over the last decade or so. The last four Pond albums have been showcases of tidiness and brevity, 10 ideas always tucked into 40 minutes or so. Local DJ Jamie Horton reveals his top-10 dance floor fillers Full list of gigs, karaokes and discos in the Isle of Man for the week ahead Music Review: sonic exploration of Latin music with Hermanos Gutiérrez The Red Hot Chilli Yessirs reveal their top 10 bands and artists But on ‘Stung!’, they gleefully, madly, and wilfully lean into double-LP largesse, tapping the spirit of ‘Tusk’ and ‘Sign ‘O’ the Times’ and creating a sprawling piece of work.
‘Stung!’ delivers some of Pond’s most glorious rock songs and also some of their least rock moments, all psychedelic drapery or funk vim. Also there once again is Pond’s expert blending of both traditional psych rock textures of guitar and bass with synths and electronic flourishes. SOUND PICK OF THE WEEK GRATEFUL DEAD – FROM THE MARS HOTEL Rhino’s 50th anniversary reissue series of the Dead’s studio catalogue hits the point where the overall quality of the albums starts to decline, but there are still plenty of individual gems present.
On ‘Mars Hotel’ we get future live favourites such as US Blues, China Doll.
