aaamusic | On 15, Dec 2013

‘Midnight Mass (At The Market Street Payphone)’  is a blend of transcendental vocals with eruptions of bass-induced, lurching rumbles. The chunky, truncheon-like attack on the senses is a wakeup call in the midst of the dream-like state brought on throughout the track. ‘Midnight Mass’ from Pond’s newest album Hobo Rocket travels an experimental heavy-rock road; over their traditional neater structured package. This is certainly an avant-garde venture with the essence of a Velvet Underground experiment, refusing to follow a traditional song structure; a commendable move to help distinguish Pond.

The continual ‘fuzzing’ buzzes takes ‘Midnight Mass’ into a psychedelic blend of musical past and future, produced as if it was on a spaceship: a mix of 1980s electro- nostalgia with space-age attributes. The delicate use of guitar in the closing half of the song shows an understanding that simplicity can be as hard-hitting as complexity. Pond are patient with the finale that carries you into a netherworld, bathing you in mysterious, gooey electronics and celestial guitar waves; reminiscent of a 70s Prog epic. ‘Midnight Mass’ is a well-formed expression of hypnotic ‘ups’ and turbulent ‘downs’, an interesting trip for any listener.

★★★★★

Liam Dodd