FRONT ROW DIARIES:
Pond Rocks Carriageworks During Vivid Sydney, Ahead of ‘Stung!’ Out Today!
Photo: Nic Mckenzie
On a wet, rainy night in Sydney, we accompanied Miles Devine of Raindrop to Carriageworks for an electrifying performance by Pond during Vivid Sydney. The venue was packed, and the night kicked off with a powerful set by Melbourne's garage-punk sensation, Delivery.
With Pond's 10th studio album Stung! out today, we reflect on their show last Friday. The audience was treated to fresh tracks like “(I’m) Stung,” “Neon River,” and “Black Lung,” alongside classic live staples such as “Daisy,” “Aloneaflameaflower,” “Giant Tortoise,” and “The Weather.” Lead singer Nick Allbrook was in top form, mesmerizing the crowd with his energetic dancing and crowd surfing, backed by original members Jay Watson and Shiny Joe Ryan, along with Jamie Terry and James Ireland.
When we asked Miles to sum up the show in one line, he enthusiastically replied,
“From their very first song, they had me completely engaged… they reminded me why they’re one of my favorite Australian bands ever.”
Stung! speaks to our collective modern paradox of being disappointed in or even disconsolate over a world that we know more about than any prior generation but also being in awe of it and (sometimes) each other, too. There are so many reasons to cry and so many reasons to marvel. Can’t they all, Pond suggests with Stung!, be reasons to sing?
Photo: Nic Mckenzie
The title Stung! began as a joke in Pond, a reference to having a crush on someone or something that they began to use so often they simply had to make it the name. They still laugh when they hear it now, a silly inside wisecrack suddenly open to the outside world. But it’s kind of a credo, too: despite the bruises, the callousness, and the suffering, they remain stung with music, with the idea of making songs that feel just so and doing it together, as friends. And they are stung with the world, too, even when it bites back. “Well, I’m stung/the bells been rung,” Allbrook sings during the winning title track. “If love’s a game, then I guess you won.” Ten albums in, though, Pond seem to be having more fun playing now than ever before.
Photo: Nic Mckenzie
The album’s moving opener “Constant Picnic” started as a touching demo from band-member James Ireland, which inspired vocalist Nick Allbrook to write chorus lyrics. “Gum built it up with some new beautiful chords in the verse and it sort of grew as things do.” explains Allbrook. “This song is about all the ways we deceive ourselves. In love, climate, history, we find it hard to face up to the truth and suffer terribly for it. The title is from the Australian gastronomic classic One Continuous Picnic by Michael Symons. It outlines how Australia as a nation never had a peasant class and so never developed a national cuisine through engagement with the land and soils. We are tethered to the Union Jack and carry around our rations (sugar tea mutton flour - also a line in “Black Lung”) despite its incompatibility with, and destructive influence on the environment. The phrase ‘Constant picnic’ echoed others like, “the lucky country” and “endless summer” that are all part of the myths we tell ourselves to feel better. “The curtains falling but at least I’m dumber” - even at the final act we prefer to just self-medicate or lie. It’s a bit complicated because we do just want to be happy.”
POND STUNG! AUS TOUR JUNE/JULY 2024
Friday 14 June 2024 – VIVID Sydney at Carriageworks, Sydney, NSW – with Delivery *sold out*
Saturday 15 June 2024 – Altar, Hobart, TAS – with 208L Containers *sold out*
Thursday 27 June 2024 – Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide, SA – with Coldwave
Friday 28 June 2024 – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne, VIC – with Parsnip *sold out*
Saturday 29 June 2024 – Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD – with Full Flower Moon Band
Saturday 6 July 2024 – Freo Social, Fremantle, WA – with Gia Como *sold out*
Tickets on sale at pond.band
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