Beard Wives Denim

hen part-time Tame Impala bassist/guitarist Nick Allbrook and drummer Jay Watson set sail as Pond (a concurrent project), they slyly threw more ‘shrooms and rainbows into the mix. As Pond, they trade in the Impala’s Cream-meets-krautrock-by-way-of-The Nazz style for a vibe more analagous to early Pink Floyd; it's playful enough to open the band up to a huge palette of sound tools. Syd Barrett's spirit fuels the dreamy “Sorry I Was Under the Sky,” while songs like “You Broke My Cool” and “Dig Brother” merge proggy pop tones with the flange pedals and skunky aroma of psych-rock. Exhale and drift to the sedate, reverb-doused “Mystery,” frolic in the surf to the carefree “Allergies,” and get swept up in the glorious, muscular metamorphosis of “Leisure Pony.” The glam-meets-grunge “Fantastic Explosion of Time” and the funk’n’falsetto stomp of “Moth Wings” and “Elegant Design” will definitely get your sweat on. Good stuff, man.