Psychedelic Mango by Pond is truly psychedelic in every since of the word. It's filled with ultra-feedbacky guitars, repetitive basslines, and lots of weird chanting. This is a good thing.
I found this CD by scouring an album shop nearby, and the friend I was with said they were from Perth, my city, and he heard it was strange, which was enough for me. From what I can scour online, they look like a bunch of young people that all like the 60's and 70's psychedelic scene, and want to recreate it through their music. And they did.
The album opens with Bees, a good indication of where we are headed. It spasms around, before disintegrating into feedback. I will say this, Psychedelic Mango is extremely experimental, and when they manage to reign it in, they produce a far better experience. Also, I'm sure they are fans of Black Sabbath (like everyone else ever), but there is no need for a noisy ripoff of one of their riffs with Gringolet's Drunken Baggage.
I guess that's the main problem with this release; it's supposed to be a throwback, but with modern touches. And it is, but it seems to go by the formula 'add noise remove melody' for a fair chunk of the album. Even outside of that, it's random jamming. And only truly skilled musicians can pull that off with consistency.
It sounds like I hate this album, but I do not. There are two great songs here; Don't Look At the Sun or You'll Go Blind with it's blistering guitars and hypnotic bass, and Psychedelic Mango Vision with almost funk-like properties before it once again devolves into noises, but with a cool spacey exit. Paisley Adams is amusing enough also, a bizarre take on the David Bowie glam rock of the early 70's.
If they had been able to reign it in and stop the random dissonance from creeping in, this album could have been so much better. I would like to hear their newer stuff though, as they are somewhat promising.
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