GOLDCARD s/t (Off Records) cd 14.98
I just realised we have never listed any Pond records. Which is a crying shame as they are responsible for two of my favorite records EVER, having slowly mutated from a dirgy grungy (they were on Sub Pop after all) sludgy rock band, to a gorgeously lush and quirky pop band, making one of the greatest pop records ever, Rock Collection. That major label debut disappeared from the radar without even a blip, most likely resulting in the end of the band. We'll remedy the Pond situation on some later list, but for now, we can talk about the new album from Pond mainman Charlie Campbell, and his new band Goldcard, which is essentially Pond (it features one of the other two Pond guys) as well as Quasi frontman Sam Coomes and a bunch of other folks. This is gorgeously quirky, super catchy really really strange indie pop, but the strangeness in no way interferes with the pop-ness, in fact it only serves to make it sound miles more original than any of the other folks reaping greater rewards than the way more deserving Campbell and his Goldcard. Campbell has an unbelievable knack for interesting arrangements/instrumentation and unlikely melodies, so unlikely in fact, that they stick in your head like bubble gum on hot asphalt. Seriously. And the lyrics are absure and surreal, about bunnies and cars and random weirdness, but are somehow achingly perfect in capturing moods and emotions, without resorting to actually talking about them. A rare gift indeed. Goldcard almost sounds like a much more intimate, stripped down Pond record, with less emphasis on the rock, and more on arrangements, and moods and experimenting, which is a good thing. The record starts off with this weird shimmering guitar part (which was all over the last Pond record), that Campbell talks about in the liner notes, realising that he didn't in fact invent it but inadvertently stole it from the Flaming Lips. All the songs have extensive notes that only tangentially relate to the songs themselves and are really funny! Once again, when I'm faced with a record that I am digging SO MUCH and listening to non-stop, I feel like no matter what or how much I write I can't do it justice or explain just why it's so good. And it is SO GOOD! Fans of the Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, Pond obviously, Built To Spill, Quasi, Modest Mouse and all that plaintive, moody, catchy indie pop will be rewarded greatly and maybe have a new treasure trove of perfect mixtape material!