Bardo Pond - On The Eclipse - LP (2003)

Labels: All Tomorrows Parties
Review by: Chris Bress

Bardo Pond have always been a pretty good band, they’ve been pacing along with some interesting records bridging psychedelic rock with post rock but on this new full length they have really fucking let rip. They’ve beefed up the sound completely and it seems taken a few notes from that amazing last Electric Wizard full length. They use massive riffs like the Wizard or Sabbath and and drag them out to an almost brutal length at times but manage to keep it just inside of the Sunn 0))) limit. The sweet vocals over the top sound pretty fucked, the male/female vocals under the drug fuelled haze bring the fuzziness of Sonic Youth to mind. The use of flutes (I think) reminded me of Like A Kind Of Matador (who were fucking awesome and totally unexpectedly so in Nottingham) as well as Comus although not as ridiculous. The third track “œWalking clouds” is a masterpiece, the hippy rock noodling guitars keep themselves melodic and structured and don’t go off in a No Neck Blues Band wonder.

This album is so easy to stick on and relax too, its fucking beautiful.