Material: Pond - Beard Wives Denim

What is it about Perth that keeps generating these psychedelic rock groups? Is there something in the water? I do hope not, since I’ve been drinking it for the past few months… I have noticed the distinct urge to play really feedback-y guitar and to sing with an accent not unlike that boy from AC/DC though. Hmm.

First we had Tame Impala, something of a success in this genre, who even got some airtime on radio stations in the United Kingdom and the Untied States. And now here are Pond, a slightly less bizarrely named group also based in Perth, Australia, who make odd noises with guitars and synths and more pedals than you could shake a heavily distorted stick at.

Their new record is called Beard Wives Denim. Its name should be a pretty accurate prediction of just how crazy the whole thing is - and believe me, it is. The whole thing sounds like they were making it up on the spot in the studio. There’s some melody in there, but the slightly off-key guitar and vocals distract quite a bit from that. Whether or not this was the plan is uncertain.

Nick Allbrook, fair play to the lad, his vocals shift and mould to the style of the song in question - admittedly that style is usually pretty close to MGMT. Probably harsh words from someone who really doesn’t like that group, and there’s only so much you can do with the genre while still making it listener-friendly. But you can’t help being reminded of Oracular Spectacular with each and every twist and turn.

What really makes this album odd to listen to, however, is the raw nature of it all. Even though the vocals are so effect-laden they can barely be made out half of the time, the drums are never treated the same way, and bar a few tracks the guitar playing is riddled with small mistakes. However, things like this add to the charm of Pond and their rather odd branch of music.

I think what I’m trying to say here is that I personally don’t like this album. I think it’s just too outside of the box for my taste. His voice is a like-it-or-loathe-it affair, and there is little else in the music forcing me to change my mind on it. Sorry, Pond. Maybe we can have a drink or something though.

The whole of Beard Wives Denim is currently streaming on hypem.

Listen: “Moth’s Wings”

Video: Eugene McGuinness - Lion

He’s back! He’s finally back! A deep-rooted fandom of the London-cum-Liverpool lad, which began with debut Early Learnings…, is not in vain!

Well, from the sounds (and looks) of comeback singles “Lion” and “Thunderbolt” - the latter is free on his Facebook page - he has lost none of his lyrical prowess. How can anyone not find I’m sitting on the ventriloquist’s knee / allowing his hands somewhere they shouldn’t be hilariously funny? …What, just me? Really? Oh well.

Great tune, though, and trust me, there are better lyrics than that one.

Video: Dog Is Dead cover a Christmas classic

It’s been a fantastic couple of years for Dog Is Dead; the grotesquely named but incessantly gleeful Nottingham five-piece have gone from supporting fellow viral behemoths OK Go to receiving major plaudits and airplay from several BBC DJs. They even starred as themselves in Skins (no, really).

Now, despite their rather infuriatingly lax attitude to actually recording anything (where’s the album, lads?), they’ve taken some time out from what is surely a busy festive period for them to record a cover of “Christmas Wrapping”, a song partially about forgetting cranberries while cooking dinner. Suitably barmy then.

I’ve not a clue if this is a session video or just a self-produced one, but it’s fantastic nonetheless. It’s available as a free download from their official site (or just use this direct link).

Video: “Christmas Wrapping” (The Waitresses cover)

Material: Odd Future members’ new project releases free album

Call them what you like, OFWGKFA are a busy lot. Now two of them have formed a new project, who go by the entirely Google-unfriendly the Internet.

The project, made up of Syd “Tha Kyd” Bennett and Matthew “Matt Martians” Martin, is an odd one. Despite being far less abrasive than previous work by the collective, it uses ridiculously stark track names (that you can read below you dirty people) to give the impression it’s still part of the OFWGKTA mould.

Listen: “Visions”

Listen to the whole album on Soundcloud (probably for a limited time…)

Material: Bombay Bicycle Club record, uh, reggae

Well, okay, it’s not officially reggae. It’s been put down as “rub a dub”. Their guitarist Jamie MacColl seems to be pretty adamant that they avoid tarnishing the genre’s reputation; in an interview with NME, he said this:

I don’t know why we didn’t just put reggae – but if I saw “Bombay Bicycle Club reggae version” I’d probably run for the hills. The original plan was to get a proper reggae band to do it, like an old school one, because we thought us doing it – four middle-class white guys from north London – probably wouldn’t turn out very well.

Reggae or not, the track is a blinder. It builds very nicely on the original version as heard on the album A Different Kind of Fix, although has a much more rustic, demo-like feel.

The song will be released on their Leave It EP which also features acoustic versions of the title track and of successful single “Shuffle”, as well as a remix version of “Leave It”. Tasty.

Listen: “Lights Out, Words Gone” (Rub A Dub version)