Every Monday, Add of the Week unveils all the new songs going into the 88Nine on-air playlist, with one hand-picked selection put in the spotlight by music director Erin Wolf.
Australian indie psych rockers POND got “indie big” a decade ago for their intertwined association with fellow Aussies Tame Impala right around the time the Kevin Parker-led project blew up. A few of the folks from POND have been touring members of Parker’s famed band and share very similar vibes (and crunchy musical shells, built with plenty of distortion).
POND does step musically aside from being a complete copycat of their popular psych pals, playing in the musical dirt a little more and flaunting their rock ‘n’ roll spirit, which really shines on their new stomper of a single, “(I’m) Stung.” While the band has oft-cited the experimental rock band CAN as one of their biggest influences, POND makes their version more psych-heavy, heady and woozy while streaked with some gleeful grime.
The subject matter of their latest song only adds to the woozy, messy nature. That ever-confusing and shifting emotion called “love” is always a riddle ready to be solved but rarely gets figured out. As Nicholas Allbrook of POND shared, “[This song is ultimately] about being totally pathetically stung by someone and just having to be cool with it being unrequited.”
Stinging relationships aside, “(I’m) Stung” is a great way to wait for the band’s newest album, similarly titled Stung! and due out June 21. The single’s big, bold and playful take on amped-up distortion, fat synths and spacey sounds is oh so satisfying. It’s also available for your listening enjoyment right here, as well as the 88Nine playlist.
This week’s other adds
- Secret Sisters, "All the Ways (ft. Ray LaMontagne)"
- The Last Dinner Party, "The Feminine Urge"
- Aaron Frazer, "Payback"
- REYNA, "Good Time"
- Crumb, "AMAMA"
- Empress Of, "What's Love (ft. MUNA)"
