Look at that cover art! They look like dinosaurs! I like it!
The long-necked gentlemen depicted up above are the members of Pond, the Australian psychedelic rock band. Last month, Pond member Jay Watson released Blue Gum Way, the latest album from his solo side project GUM. Almost immediately afterwards, Pond returned at full strength with a very cool new song called "Terrestrials," which turns out to be the title track of their upcoming album. You might've just glossed over this entire paragraph because you were still thinking about that album cover. It's fine. I get it. You don't need the context, anyway.
Here's some more context: When Pond recorded Terrestrials, the follow-up to 2024's Stung!, they reportedly set a few rules for themselves: No fuzz pedals, no ballads, and no "Pink Floyd shit." A press release mentions gothy post-punk bands the Sisters Of Mercy and Magazine as influences and claims that the band went for a "goths at the pub" vibe with this one. Much like "Terrestrials," the new single "Two Hands" is a sleek and bumpy rocker with a surprisingly funky beat underneath it. I'll happily take this articular dance-rock fusion over what Pond's homie Tame Impala is making these days.
In the aforementioned press release, Pond's Nicholas Allbrook says that "Two Hands" is about a fucked-up outrage that's specific to Australia:
This song is about when mining company Rio Tinto blew up Juukun Gorge in the Hammersley Range in Western Australia. They destroyed sacred rock shelters that were of the highest archaeological, cultural and spiritual significance. The rock shelters contained a cultural sequence spanning 46,000 years that had been taken care of by the local Indigenous communities. I was wondering how the commentators around this country would've reacted if the shoe was on the other foot and someone had demolished the Vatican or Notre Dame or St. Paul’s because it was in the way of their corporate expansion. Anyway, its a little word of encouragement that you’ve got every right to be very fucking angry about this injustice.
Pond co-directed the "Two Hands" video with Kristofski. It's about two freaks who live at an apocalyptic junkyard and stay wary of the cops who roll up in a police car with "cops" written across its side. The whole thing has cartoonish Mad Max vibes, and it's charming. Below, check out that video, the Terrestrials tracklist, and Pond's upcoming tour dates, including some American shows with Djo.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Skyworks"
02 "Casuarina"
03 "Through The Heather"
04 "Two Hands"
05 "Roebuck Plains"
06 "The Fatal Shore"
07 "Tourmaline"
08 "Terrestrials"
09 "Personal Hell"
10 "Nashville (I’m Dying)"
TOUR DATES:
6/20 - Magandjin/Brisbane, Australia @ Against the Grain Festival
7/10 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
7/14 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE *
7/17 - Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium *
7/21 - Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point *
7/23 - Lewiston, NY @ Artpark Amphitheatre *
7/24 - Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall
7/31 - Richmond, VA @ Allianz Amphitheatre at the Riverfront *
8/06 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
8/27 - Chicago, IL @ Metro
8/29 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
9/03 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
9/07 - Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
9/12 - Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
9/16 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk Outdoor
9/18 - Dallas, TX @ Studio at the Bomb Factory
9/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
* with Djo
Terrestrials is out 6/19 on the band's own Mangovision label, via Secretly Distribution.
