Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
Last year, Australian psych rockers Pond released their seventh album, the roomy, synth-replete The Weather. On that record, psychedelia twists through the track listing in the forms of hazy guitar riffs, serpentine synthesizer lines and new wave-inspired gestures. On their new single, “Burnt Out Star,” Pond go beyond the rain and wind of The Weather and aspire to cosmic heights. A sprawling eight-minute journey, “Burnt Out Star” was released Monday. You can give it a listen below.
There’s certainly nothing dormant about “Burnt Out Star.” On the track, Pond linger in a trippy daze for about five minutes before the song explodes into a psychedelic fever. By 5:42, it has escalated entirely, becoming a drum-heavy, synthy scenescape. Eight minutes may seem like a long time to devote to a psych-rock song, but this track makes for a comfortable sit and space-out.
You might easily draw comparisons to Tame Impala on this track and in Pond’s previous material—that’s because the two bands have at many points shared members, and Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker was at the producer’s helm for several of their albums, including The Weather. Both bands got their start in Perth, Australia.
Also on Monday, Pond announced a North American tour, dates for which you can find here. Further down, listen to Pond’s earlier musings by way of their 2012 Daytrotter swing-by—they only played one song, but they packed a lot of psychedelic punch into four minutes.