Pond invite you to partake in the freakage on “Terrestrials”

Australian psych-rockers Pond aren’t afraid to launch off into another dimension, often cycling through several genres within a single song. Whether through swirling chaotic riffs, classic psychedelia, raucous post-punk, or bass-heavy grooves, the Nick Allbrook-fronted quintet never allow themselves to grow stagnant. Terrestrials, their eleventh studio album, pushes their sound ever forward while still hitting the heights they’re known for. On Terrestrials, Pond wade into 80s goth atmospherics, pub-rock-inspired jams, and haunting synths. The entire record has the feel of something being projected from down a dark alley of some future city. 

Opener “Skyworks” sets the pace immediately. A drum-machine beat propels a DEVO-inspired guitar and glitchy, punching synth line forward, with Allbrook’s vocals carrying a Richard Butler, Psychedelic Furs energy that roots the whole thing firmly in 80s new wave. The track starts skittish and coiled before ripping open around the 1:30 mark, and that’s exactly where I imagine the mosh pits forming. No time is wasted pulling you into the sonic world Pond has built here. “Casuarina” doesn’t let up, charging forward with loose, urgent energy that has a modern-day Wipers feel; heavy, buzzing, and brooding with a riff to kill for.

“Through the Heather” leans into the gothic with a reverb-drenched drum and plucky synth line that calls Sisters of Mercy to mind. Then “Two Hands” arrives as the record’s most overt call to arms; catchy, dancefloor-ready, and communally anthemic. “If your blood pumps and your heart beats / I’ll meet you at the corner of my street / now two hands can make a fist / red mist”. The song, like the record, invites you to be a freak and partake in freakage with your fellow freaks. It’ll sound stellar and at home on big festival stages as well as in the dimly lit, damp backroom pubs of Australia and beyond.

“Roebuck Plains” is less goth and instead more rustic, jangly and Prefab Sprout-y; it’s perhaps the finest track on the record. It made me think of The La’s if they were around in 2026. It’s a refreshing change of pace. “The Fatal Shore” is a slow burner with a Peter Murphy-esque vocal feel, building toward something close to euphoric, while “Tourmaline” features a metallic acoustic guitar and the same propulsive immediacy that runs throughout most of the record.

The title track is where it all peaks. Explosive and gigantic, it’s the moment the album was always building toward. Closer “Nashville (I’m Dying)” is a perfect cap; graceful and cinematic, it has the feel of Pulp at their best as Pond rides out into the sunset with the credits rolling.Terrestrials is Pond at their most focused and, arguably, their most exciting. Long may they haunt the back alleys.