Few contemporary bands understand psychedelia’s weird mix of weightlessness and heaviosity better than Bardo Pond. Now onto their sixth album, they definitely improve with age, cutting back on the feedback murk that made their early work bracing but impenetrable. Isobel Sollenberger’s forlorn folk vocals, or her flute playing, lead the band through stark, funereal-paced reveries and onwards to grinding stoner-rock drones. Striving a little hard for cosmic resonance, perhaps, but On The Ellipse remains an excellent soundtrack for contemplating the patterns of your mildewed Turkish rug.
Advertisement