Pond (Australian Band)
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Pond is an Australian
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
band from
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
,
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, formed in 2008. Initially featuring a revolving line-up, since 2016 the band has consisted of Nick Allbrook,
Jay Watson Jay Wesley Watson is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a touring member of the psychedelic band Tame Impala and as a co-founder of the psychedelic rock/pop band Pond, with whom he's record ...
, Shiny Joe Ryan, Jamie Terry, and James Ireland. Pond is often heavily associated with fellow Perth-based psychedelic rock/pop band
Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...
, as members of both groups are longtime close friends and collaborators. Watson is currently a full-time member of both acts and also releases solo albums under the name GUM. Lead singer Allbrook contributed to both bands from 2009 to 2013 before leaving Tame Impala to focus on Pond and his own solo career. Multi-instrumentalists Ryan and Ireland serve as crew members for Tame Impala's live act, and much like Allbrook and Watson, both also have solo careers. In addition, current Tame Impala members Kevin Parker, Cam Avery, and Julien Barbagallo are all former members of Pond. Parker continued to work with the band as its
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
until 2020, and Avery collaborated with Allbrook as the duo Allbrook/Avery. Watson and Ireland sometimes collaborate under the name GUM & Ginoli, remixing songs originally recorded by other artists. As of June 2025, Pond has released ten studio albums and two live albums.


History

Pond was formed in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Western Australia, in 2008 with members Nick Allbrook, Jay Watson and Joe Ryan. The original idea of Pond was to be able to get anyone they wanted to play whatever they wanted in a
collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The f ...
musical project. Their first album was released soon after in January 2009, titled '' Psychedelic Mango'' which contained many
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
and pop elements. Their second album, '' Corridors of Blissterday'', was completed live with an eight-piece band in five days, and released in June 2009. This led to the creation of their 2010 album, ''
Frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...
'', released in May 2010, featuring a heavier pop influence than previously heard from them. After the breakthrough success of '' Innerspeaker'', the debut album by
Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...
, a band which shares three members with Pond, the album '' Beard, Wives, Denim'' was recorded in 2010 and later released to critical acclaim in March 2012. Pond toured the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 2012, appearing at festivals such as
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
, with another album titled '' Hobo Rocket'' set for release in the future. On 26 May 2012,
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
magazine named Pond "The Hottest New Band In The World" in their "Hot List" issue. On 28 June 2012, Pond had a one-off performance with Can frontman
Damo Suzuki , known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), was a Japanese musician best known as the vocalist for the German Krautrock group Can (band), Can between 1970 and 1973. Born in 1950 in Kobe, Japan, he moved to Europe in the late 1960s where he was spotte ...
, one of Pond's biggest inspirations and musical idols. Originally, '' Man It Feels Like Space Again'' was planned to be the next Pond album, but instead ''Hobo Rocket'' was chosen to be recorded beforehand and was released on 6 August 2013. Pond described ''Hobo Rocket'' as being "much better" than ''Beard, Wives, Denim''. ''Man It Feels Like Space Again'', their sixth studio album, was later released on 23 January 2015. Pond announced their seventh album '' The Weather'', released on 7 May 2017 via Marathon Artists. The announcement came with the release of two singles, "30000 Megatons" and "Sweep Me Off My Feet". The title and chorus of the first song refer to the 30,000 nuclear warheads in the arsenal of the Earth. As with their previous album, ''The Weather'' was produced by Kevin Parker at his studio in Perth. The album was preceded by the release of two more singles, "The Weather" and "Paint Me Silver". The album was released to critical acclaim, with many publications praising it as an evolution and maturation of the band's sound and songwriting. A little over a year after the release of ''The Weather'', on 23 July 2018, Pond released the single "Burnt Out Star" and announced tour dates. The band then released the single "Sixteen Days" on 5 October along with an accompanying music video. The single "Daisy" was released on 10 January 2019 with a music video that was filmed on land for which the Kulin and
Nyoongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...
Nations were the traditional custodians, with the band paying respect to them in the opening card. Along with the release of this single, the band announced through social media their eighth studio album, ''
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
'', which was released through
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
on 1 March 2019 to similar acclaim as ''The Weather''. Days after the release of ''Tasmania'', the band toured locally, with performances in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. It would be their first local tour since 2017. Later that year they would go on to tour Europe and the UK. On 9 September 2019, the band announced a live album, ''Sessions'', which was released on 8 November 2019. To promote it they released the single "Don't Look at the Sun (Or You'll Go Blind)", an updated live version of a song featured on their debut album '' Psychedelic Mango''. During a live performance in Perth, Australia on 8 November 2020, the band unveiled a song titled "America's Cup" and hinted that their ninth studio album was set to be released in June 2021. On 31 March 2021, the band released a single called "Pink Lunettes", which was accompanied by a music video directed by band member Jamie Terry. On 17 May 2021, the band revealed that their ninth studio album, '' 9'', would be released on 1 October 2021, along with a single, "America's Cup". On 30 June 2021, the album's third single, "Toast", was released alongside a video that was co-directed by the band. On 1 September 2021, the album's fourth single, "Human Touch", was released and accompanied by a video co-directed by Duncan Wright and lead singer Nick Allbrook. On 17 November 2021, the band released a video for the album track, "Take Me Avalon I'm Young", filmed in
Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
, UK, and directed by Bunny Kinney. On 2 March 2022, the band revealed that a deluxe edition of ''9'' was in the works, titled ''9 DLX Edition'', and was to include four additional tracks cut from the album's initial release. Alongside the announcement they unveiled a video for its lead single, “Lights of Leeming”, directed by the band. On 4 May 2022, they released a video for its second single, “Hang a Cross On Me”, featuring vocals by Cowboy John, who had previously appeared on the title track of ''Hobo Rocket''; the video was directed by Alex Haygarth and Nick Allbrook. ''9 DLX Edition'' was released on 20 May 2022. On 31 January 2024, Pond released a new single, "Neon River", accompanied by a music video. In February and March, they toured across Australia and New Zealand as one of the opening acts for
Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
. On 27 March 2024, the band announced that their tenth studio album, '' Stung!'', would be released on 21 June 2024. Accompanying the album's unveiling was its second single, "(I'm) Stung", along with a music video and news of a tour of Australia later that year. On 21 May 2024, it was announced that the third single from ''Stung!'', titled "So Lo", would be released on 28 May 2024.


Band name

According to Allbrook during the band's concert at Paradiso Amsterdam on 7 October 2024, the name of the band originates from a duck swimming in the canals of Amsterdam. The duck created a whirl when it started diving. Therefore, 'pond' refers to a whirl, rather than a lake. Ryan has a diving duck tattooed on his chest.


Band members


Current

* Nick Allbrook – vocals, flute, keys, synth, guitar, bass, slide guitar, occasional drums, production (2008–present) * "Shiny" Joe Ryan – guitar, vocals, bass, 12-string guitar, slide guitar, occasional synth, production (2008–present) * Jay "GUM" Watson – drums, vocals, bass, guitar, keys, synth, production and mixing (2008–present) * Jamie Terry – keys, synth, organ, bass, occasional guitar, production (2010–present) * James "Gin" Ireland – drums, occasional keys, production, and mixing (2016–present)


Contributors and occasional/former members

* Kevin Parker – drums (2009–2011), production and mixing (2012–2019) * Nick Odell – congas * Richard Ingham – synth, table * Felicity Groom - saw * Matthew Saville – drums (2009) * Julien Barbagallo – bass (2014–2015) * Cam Avery – drums, bass (2012–2014) * Ben McDonald – bass (2014) * Chris Wright - drums (2025–)


Timeline


Discography

Studio albums *'' Psychedelic Mango'' (2009) *'' Corridors of Blissterday'' (2009) *''
Frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...
'' (2010) *'' Beard, Wives, Denim'' (2012) *'' Hobo Rocket'' (2013) *'' Man It Feels Like Space Again'' (2015) *'' The Weather'' (2017) *''
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
'' (2019) *'' 9'' (2021) *'' Stung!'' (2024)


Awards and nominations


AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as
AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...
) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, ''Tasmania'' , Best Independent Rock Album or EP , , - , rowspan="1",
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
, "I'm Stung" , Independent Music Video of the Year , , rowspan="1", , -


APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the
Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...
to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. ! , - ,
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, "Zond" , Song of the Year , , , -


EG Awards / Music Victoria Awards

The EG Awards (known as ''Music Victoria Awards'' since 2013) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. , - , rowspan="2",
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, ''Beard, Wives, Denim'' , Best Album , , - , Pond , Best Band , , -


Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. ! , - , 2025 , Pond , Rolling Stone Readers Award , , , -


West Australian Music Industry Awards

The West Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMIs) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). Pond has won two awards. (wins only) , - , rowspan="2", 2014 , rowspan="2", Pond , Most Popular Act , , - , Most Popular Live Act , , -


References


External links


Info at SpinningTop
{{Authority control Musical groups from Perth, Western Australia Musical groups established in 2008 Australian psychedelic rock music groups Australian indie rock groups Fiction Records artists