Modular

Pond is one of the many brother bands to Perth, Australia’s Tame Impala. Fronted by Tame guitarist Nick Allbrook, the group dishes out a similar brand of sun-bleached, fuzz-laden rock that often recalls a more raved-up version of MGMT’s more experimental side. Beard Wives Denim – their fifth studio effort – was recorded over two weeks in a ramshackle farmhouse in Western Australia, combining the group’s knack for ‘60s-inspired rock with expansive cosmic sound quests. Sure to make many year-end favorite lists, the album thrives on tracks like the psych bliss-out “Moth Wings,” the stunningly beautiful “Sorry I Was under the Sky” or the soaring, astral adventure “Eye Pattern Blindness.” In a sea of contemporary psych revivalists, Pond are one of few who are actually furthering the repopularized genre.