Perth, Australia is home to a something of a localized subset of neo-psychedelic artists, with names like GUM & Ginoli, Tame Impala, and Pond all hailing from within its borders. Pond, specifically, sits right in the epicenter of that phenomenon, counting current and past members of all three groups among their ranks at some point or another – including Kevin Parker himself prior to Tame Impala’s taking the indie scene by storm. Pond both pre and post-Parker have, of course, made a name for themselves in their own right with their brand of reverb-heavy, fuzzy guitar-laden, synthesizer-soaked psychedelia. The recently released track “Neon River,” along with the rest of its parent album album Stung! deliver that signature sound in spades.
“Neon River” comes from that particular lineage of psychedelic rock that revels in combining disparate parts into a greater whole – think “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” or “A Day in the Life.” It’s spacey acoustic intro almost recalls yacht-rock in it’s way, owing as much to “Summer Breeze” as the Beatles. Then, just before that tempered, slightly haunting atmosphere gains total dominance, a punchy guitar riff tears down the soft-rock veil and demands an increase in volume that the rhythm section is all too happy to oblige. These two sections ebb back and forth between one another before a synthesizer-driven interlude briefly unites the two aesthetics. At last that heavy, Zeppelin-esque riff takes total control, and, paired with a few more trippy sonic ornaments, rides the song through to the fade-out.
Stung!, like most of the band’s repertoire, is an trippy blend of a myriad of musical elements, but “Neon City” is classic, raw Pond. One can hear in it everything that makes the group and its various sister-acts great. As all involved parties draw from this wellspring for to craft their psych-rock cocktails, Pond on “Neon City” provides the pure stuff, straight up.