''The Practice of Joy Before Death'' is an album by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

, released in 1995. Its first single was "Glass Sparkles in Their Hair".

Production

The album was produced by Pond and Adam Kaspar. Pond started the album in a basement studio, using an 8-track and recording at different times and with different instruments; Kaspar then remixed some of the songs. The band filtered its vocals through a megaphone on "Carpenter Ant"; they used a sitar on "Sundial". "Van" is an ode to Pond's mode of transportation during tours.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' stated: "Largely repudiating pop, the trio ... head toward the emo-core of bands like Polvo and Sunny Day Real Estate." The ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' concluded that "few musicians can actually balance raw instinct and fashionable music so beautifully." The ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'' determined that Pond "churn out a kind of guitar pop that comes from growing up with Pere Ubu, the Pixies and Sonic Youth as songwriting models."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

praised "Van" and "Sideroad". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote that Pond's "sound is neither pop nor ('Carpenter Ant' aside) metal but swoony low-tech psychedelia; such trippy songs as 'Magnifier' and 'Glass Sparkles in Their Hair' employ droning, circular riffs and the heavily mutated sounds of toy pianos and (apparently) whatever else was lying around." ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' called the album "utterly unpredictable indie-rock chock-full of melodic songs, deep textures, and moods that spirit you away with your balance shaken." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' opined that Pond "returns to the best elements of its previous effort, while managing to sound more accomplished." The ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

'' thought that "the sound is alternately beautiful and harrowing, songs that jangle along their way until they erupt into bizarre bursts of feedback or minor-chord riffs."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that "the less-is-more production and incisive songwriting make ''The Practice of Joy Before Death'' the best of Pond's three albums." ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' labeled ''The Practice of Joy Before Death'' the band's "masterpiece."

Track listing

# Sideroad # Mubby's Theme # Union # Magnifier # Patience # Ol' Blue Hair # Sundial # Glass Sparkles in Their Hair # Van # Happy Cow Farm Family # Carpenter Ant # Artificial Turf # Rock Collection # Gagged & Bound

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Practice of Joy Before Death 1995 albums Sub Pop albums