“Terrestrials” is the eleventh album by Pond, the Australian psych-rock band which, despite having a following of loyal fans, in the world of music mainstream he remains best known for his association with Tame Impala. Kevin Parker was a member of the group in the old days and has collaborated and collaborates in turn with several members, especially Jay Watson, who plays for his live band. The influences are more or less the same, but Pond have followed their own path which has never really distanced them from guitars and never really brought them closer to dancefloor – which obviously can't be said, at this point, for Tame Impala.
In fact, after a “pop” phase of their career, between 2017 and 2021, which saw Pond have some fun with synths and more dance rhythms, the group decidedly returned to rock (and in full Led Zeppelin style to boot) in 2024 with “Stung!” In the brand new 2026 album the direction is confirmed, although this time, according to what the band itself stated, the influences should be those of their compatriots Church and Midnight Oil, with a look at the post-punk and Australian new wave scene of the early 80s.
It's difficult to define “Terrestrials” as a post-punk album in its entirety, but it's true that the influence of Midnight Oil – a criminally underrated group still today – can be felt well: just listen to the first single, “Two Hands”, an enthusiastic and truly old-time rock; or “Roebuck Plains”, with arpeggios jangle which definitely bring you back to a certain 80s post-punk – perhaps more in the area of Teardrop Explodes or Dream Syndicate. “The Fatal Shore” is very different from the rest of the album, with a dance-rock with subtly electronic rhythms; there is a reason: producer and co-author of the song is Tame Impala himself, guest of the occasion.
But despite the post-punk aspirations, the basic setting of the album remains that of lively, guitar-driven psychedelic rock, as evidenced by the opening track “Skyworks” and “Casuarina”, which seem to take us back to a specific era of Pond – that of “Man It Feels Like Space Again” (2015). The same goes for “Terrestrials”, the fantastic (in every sense) title track which expresses an enthusiasm for a purely instrumental and incisive rock, even in this case on the prog side, forgetting every so-called “commercial” impulse. And it is the most typical sound of Pond, screams of the unstoppable frontman Nick Allbrook included.
Ultimately, for those looking for a listen that actually takes you back to that post-punk aussie 80s so typical, maybe that's not exactly what “Terrestrials” does. But it is certainly another very successful Pond album, a work in which the five Australian musicians once again show all the solidity of a style now thickened and tested by almost two decades of evolution. An album that is certainly “rock” in many senses of the term, but convincing above all in its refusal to give in to compromises – not that they have any need for it now – and in offering ideas that, in most of the contemporary psych (or, even, post-punk) repertoire, is quite difficult to find.
06/21/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
