Review: Pond at Freo.Social

Pond at Freo.Social
w/ Gia Como & NeapolaXi
Saturday, July 6, 2024

Last Saturday, Perth psych heroes Pond celebrated their new album and another lap around the country with a sold-out show at Freo.Social.

NeapolaXi greeted early arrivals with her energetic, one-woman electronic show as she hunched over a table of gadgets to create dark and, at times, noise-inspired soundscapes. In contrast, when she rose to sing, her voice was bright and poppy as she quickly shuffled across the stage. During a story involving magic mushrooms, a man with a very distinct and familiar hairdo called out loudly in agreement.

The trancey backbeats of Gia Como were augmented by two backing dancers either side of the singer, who bowed while projecting his deep voice into the microphone. With a compelling set of industrial and New Order-inspired sounds and imagery inspired by Madonna’s Vogue music video, it was fitting warm up to main act.

The crowd bunched together closely as Pond casually entered the stage. The calming opening chords of Daisy radiated as Nick Allbrook delivered the opening lines, arms stretched above his head as if starting the day. Jamie Terry and James Ireland on bass and drums, respectively, came in reliably with its driving rhythm, grooving with magical sync into the following song, America's Cup.

The anthemic bop of new album highlight, I’m Stung, saw more of Allbrook’s trademark dance moves before he laid on the floor to let Jay Watson sing his parts in Neon Picnic, replacing the fade-out with a building, up-tempo vamp while Allbrook swirled his mic lead and tossed his stand above his head.

The irresistible funk or “Chili Peppers rip off" (to quote the singer) of So Lo made hip movement involuntary, before the riff-heavy Black Lung brought delight to some of the fans of earlier work. The run of new songs, broken by Sweep Me Off My Feet from 2017’s The Weather, was delivered with enough enthusiasm to convince fans undecided on Stung!

Human Touch took on a much harder style as opposed to its studio version, and Allbrook’s by now fourth or fifth venture into the crowd suited it perfectly. By this point in the show, he was on his second mic stand, and Jay Watson had made his way to the drums.

After the crisp, floating falsetto of Paint Me Silver, the hints of earlier styles from before fully manifested with a rendition of Aloneaflameaflower from 2013’s Hobo Rocket. It’s doom space opening, and spoof Led Zeppelin middle section saw Allbrook and Shiny Joe Ryan combine and harmonise their guitars into a force that created a pseudo-mosh pit amongst some of the attendees more inclined to heavier music.

Harmonising guitars continued for The Weather, before Giant Tortoise stomped through Freo.Social like its namesake: authoritative yet docile. Nick Allbrook lamented the end of the night, referring to it as an “occasion to sink a bunch of piss and crawl all over each other and listen to rock n roll," before proposing a toast, with Toast.

The audience expressed a genuine, heartfelt desire for more music, and no one dared leave their precious spots up front. Their cries were rewarded with the band's return with Hang a Cross On Me, before Allbrook leant into the crowd to solemnly warn, Don’t Look At the Sun (Or You’ll Go Blind). The sage advice and age-old Pond wisdom still resonated as they pounded the show to a close.

Pond are a band that visibly take pride in putting on a solid live performance. Along with Nick Allbrook’s stage presence, their lush soundscapes were fully filled out among the five members, along with the extra pace and energy needed for a killer live show.

AJ MAHAR

Photos by Linda Dunjey