BARDO POLLND

I can rarely get past the first couple tracks on the s/t. :(

those are like the two shortest songs. patience!

AMANITA
LAPSED
SET AND SETTING

Exactly the same as 'a passing spacecadet' really, haven't heard anything from Ticket Crystals on. Voting confidently for Lapsed, what a beast!

Kinda wish I could vote for a live-in-concert option...

if they could capture on record what they do on stage, that would be my pick too. isobel (and her flute) works better for me in person, for sure, riding that sound they build

They haven't toured the West coast in forever, considering I got into them big-time circa Dilate and still have never seen them.

My fav era starts with Set up till On The Ellipse, I've kept up with the main albums as much as I can, but they've have felt very hit/miss for me. I like Circuit VIII a LOT, though, since it's very much from the Set/Lapsed era psycho-crunch.

(though I might take either Hash Jar Tempo above any of these)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Amanita will likely always be my favorite Bardo Pond album. It was in the right place at the right time.

Hey that's pretty much what I was going to say! But Amen 29:15 deserves some respect for being monumental.

This is impossible.
I love this band so so so so much. I've seen them live maybe a half-dozen times. I love them. I haven't even heard all of these records due to my format prejudice, but i have never heard a bad record by this band.

BIG LAUGHING JYM

I have literally never seen a copy of this. Reissue time.

It was the first Bardo album I owned! Pretty lowfi iirc.

(all my cd's were stolen out of my car senior year in high school. Pretty sure Big Jym was a casualty)

dilate. not real picky when it comes to these dudes tho

I have BLJ. (It's OOP? Explains why there's a new copy going for $50 on Amazon (used for $9 though).) Except for "Dragonfly," not much memorable on it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Set & Setting or On The Ellipse for me...

I'd vote for the "LSD POND" thing they did with LSD March if I could.

not going to vote because I haven't heard many of these, but Ticket Crystals was what stuck with me. the only one I still play with any regularity. haven't been able to get into the s/t either.

Leaving aside the early cassettes, I've heard ALL but 2-4 of these. (Also own LSD Pond, and a fistful of side/affiliated projects.)

thats a lot of albums

You're telling me.

oh man just saw this poll

gotta go dilate as hearing "two planes" as my first bardo pond tune just totally did my head in, instant fan for life. agree the hash jar tempo and lsd pond releases are worthy & missing. likewise w/ the tom carter collaborative live thing. used to have the prairie dog flesh, vapour theories, 500mg stuff too but then sold it. i think i had like 25+ bardo things on my shelf. went a bit overboard there for a while!

ahh dont forget -- alasehir/alumbrados, those are pretty good too

went a bit overboard there for a while!

Makes sense to go overboard with Bardo, hah. You got me beat, too: I only have 19 Bardo-related things on my shelf.

There's no Cypher Documents either, and that's straight up real Bardo. :(

(19 not counting various boots I have hidden everywhere.)

voting Lapsed and only own four albums, all from the mid 90's. need to listen to the new one.

These guys should win an Album of the Year Grammy.

I voted for the wrong one. :(

Of course they're all great, but a curveball vote for me this poll - 'Ticket Crystals'

Wtf is up w people in this thread? New one is great. Fantastic, even. Making me regret once again not voting in the past end-of-year poll.

its great. just ignore leee..

Right on Algie!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I thought Lapsed would walk this

set and setting is the one i heard first and probably still my fav

4 votes for the new one is kind of a shocker! who else voted for it???

i did. i don't know their catalogue real well—a couple-few of the late-90s ones that i heard then (ok) or revisited in recent years (to better effect), recent ones like 'peri' that i enjoyed a lot, and the new one. they've always struck me as pretty awesome when they're awesome and not-quite-heavy-or-messed-up-enough when not, a little inconsistent at what i was getting from them, but lately they've been more satisfying to me and the new one seemed to really hit a zone even on the kinds of songs i would have been impatient with in the past.

i think it's partly a drums and bass thing—have they sorted out their rhythm section a little better now?

sounds like i rly need to hear the new one!

have they sorted out their rhythm section a little better now?

God, I hope not.

P4k gave it a 6.5, which really got on my nerves...I dunno enough about them either but I think you're right j, the new one hits a sweet spot and stays there...

still love the new one, but if I had the chance, I would change my vote to "Set and Setting"

solid line-up for lucky nyers

http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/2255

that show is so goddamn early i'm gonna miss mtns & pond because of work. love metal mountains; one of my fave bands at the moment.

I guess you're also gonna miss Guided By Voices, White Fence, Thee Oh Sees, Eleanor Friedberger and Spectre Folk who are all playing different shows that night.

Busy weekend.

i would rather see bardo pond than all those, although god bless robert pollard

I would too probably, that weekend is crazy though. Not to mention this Oneida thang:

http://enemyhogs.com/site/index.php?id=365

good interview w/ one of the Bardo guys on altered zones -

http://alteredzones.com/posts/1398/artist-profile-bardo-pond

jason kourkounis is a monster

their latitudes release from last month, yntra, is unbelievable

wtf didn't even know about this, RIP their web presence.

Don't even know how I can pick up their last vol. CD-R!

seriously this is really great vintage stuff

http://blog.southern.com/2012/09/bardo-pond-grace-us-with-a-divine-latitudes-session/

i listened to the first 2 tracks on youtube. its really really good so far

two great (relatively) straightforward rock songs then a twenty minute hawkwind meltdown makoto kawabata would give his left nut to have been part of

I would've voted Ticket Crystals, but I'm hardly a completist.

Who's the lead vox on the second track of the new one?

I don't know why it's taking me so long to get into these monster freakout jams now, but I'm finally digging on "A Crossing" now.

Man, Ticket Crystals sounding so good this morning. "destroying Angel" is my favorite Bardo Pond song right now. Isobel's voice reminds me of a (relatively) more tuneful Toody Cole, and when the flute comes in and you think it's just another vocal track at first, it's seriously a Fripp-guitar-solo-on-"Hammond Song" kinda moment

Yeah imo Ticket Crystals is the start of a major upswing for the Bardos

attn bardo pond enthusiasts:
http://open.spotify.com/track/0aC2O1Md5jNf2xmeRfl7sQ

going in...

(thx lech)

Holy shit this maggot brain gets really molten

:)
the creator has but one demand: peace and happiness throughout the land

<3

damn, that was a hell of a thing. and yeah, "molten" is the word, at least in the second half. can't touch the liquid precision and dialed-in emotional intensity of the original, but provides a spectacular platform for bp's sense-dulled flame & glide.

"the creator has a master plan" is proceeding v nicely, too. shades of spacemen 3's take on "transparent radiation". these are no shit two of my very favorite songs in all the world, and i can't imagine them channeled through a finer medium.

this rules

listened to this on repeat for most of the morning. helps ease the descent.

Located a copy in St Louis!

Playing their side from Harmony of the Spheres in anticipation. I think I like them them most when they extend further.

then yr gonna love this

that harmony of the spheres box is so great though. haven't played it in ages. wanna rectify, but it's 3,000 miles away :(

What's going on for those of us without Spotify?

isobel blowing pharoah sanders licks on her pipe rules

Aw man the copy that I thought I was getting fell through. Well...at least it is on spotify.

Isobel's flute on "Maggot Brain" makes it sound like an On the Ellipse outtake so far, though the production is a little grungier.

this is great! I mean, I expected it to be, and it didn't disappoint. These guys are getting better imo...

nice doom flute on "chance" on the new one, peace on venus

I am fail for not even knowing that they have a new release till now! :(

http://www.firerecords.com/site/index.php?page=release&releaseid=00000001014

Listening to the first

... track now, and I think this "midtempo dirge with loads of crushing bass distortion" direction has legs for the band.

oooh that sounds good

BP has been on a massive roll this decade

I should catch up, was a big fan in the Bufo / Amanita / Lapsed era

Oof, the last track just pummels me in slow motion.

Streaming on Pitchfork Advance right now: http://pitchfork.com/advance/267-peace-on-venus/

this sounds like an album that was made in a blender for me to like it
doom flute 4ever

2013: Year of the Flute

...not really, but I've been jamming this & the new Bill Callahan and Cave records the past 2 weeks....flute all over.

Oh wow when there's this quick break and Isobel sings "It's gonna be all right," wow.

1) this seems to be the only album i can use to convince myself to do boring work for work -- if i do the task, i get to listen to new bardo pond.
2) from the first two lines of singing in kali yuga blues, all i can think about is moon pix era cat power but super plugged in. does isobel always sing like this? who sang like that first? this is not a joke question.
3) has this band always sounded like this? like, with actual songs? i really don't know that much about them outside of maybe 2-3 albums? both were more instrumental iirc.
4) which of the hash jar tempo albums (that's the one with roy montgomery, right?) is better? i listened to one of them once and it was ok, but kinda...too loose/improv/bloodless and i didn't listen to it again

3. Kind of a recent development, I'd say circa Ticket Crystals where they covered "Cry, Baby, Cry." Not sure which are the actual songs on POV, though!
4. I like the second one (Under Glass) more, but HJT don't do it for me that much, tbh.

All of their proper albums contain at least a couple "songs" among the jams.

Not sure which are the actual songs on POV, though!
wha? this one is pure songs! they're really really slow, but i can hear a structure that i don't always associate with this band. it's like they have a plan and it moves along at a slightly faster pace than it does on what i thought they sounded like. maybe it was just the first song was like that and it made me think the other songs were like that? OR maybe i am listening to something different than i did before? no idea! it definitely sounds songy to me.

i didn't like HJT much either, which is why i was wondering which one was the "good" one since i didn't really feel moved by the one i heard, forget which one tbh

are they touring? i can't even imagine what this would look like live. what do people do at a bardo pond show?

nod off

that sounds boring
are they boring live?

They can be. They can be really exciting, too.
Haven't seen them in 7 or 8 years.

But their shows always seemed like a good opportunity to close my eyes and zone out to the noize rather than get amped and moved around.

They finished an OZ tour a few months back, I think, now they're mostly doing one-offs around Philly/the Northeast.

I have ~never~ seen them live.

That seems like it would be pleasant if you knew what to expect.
Also, I finished the thing I had to do for work, ha. I think I like really slow boring music for stuff like that. I listen to Sleep a lot while grading exams.

slow boring music

:\

;D

BP has been on a massive roll this decade

― nypc blue (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, October 13, 2013 6:02 PM (4 weeks ago)

otm. didn't know they had a new album out, either. psyched for this afternoon.

It's really good

are they boring live?

they are one of the best bands i've ever seen. they were my highlight from the providence RI terrastock, a fest that included the last US live performance (i think?) of ghost. i saw thurston moore open up for them a few years ago at le paisson rouge and it was just as amazing. closest i can approximate a description is imagine the dead as intense as blue cheer and witchy as black sabbath, and that really doesn't do justice to how awesome they are. a total must see if you get the chance imho

i asked because i think some of the songs on the new album would be super monsters live, but i didn't know if they were reliably good live or touring or what.
my initial thought was that they were touring and it slipped my radar, as things do.

i would not hesitate to recommend seeing them. they absolutely kill it live. it's kind of amazing how heavy it all is and that isobel can stand there in the middle of all that noise, calm as an oracle

It's actually been twelve years since I last saw them. Would love to see them again.

Seen them many many times over the years and they slay. Last saw them at the Louisville Terrastock w/Kawabata from AMT joining in for the full set.

on record, they've been getting heavier with age, as people do

It's a bit hazy, but that Terrastock set seemed to be the perfect mix of relaxed & heavy vibes. I'd imagine not much has shifted since then. That said, really digging the new record. Winter is usually my prime Pond listening season though.

gotta slow down in the winter

That Terrastock set in Louisville has been the only time, out of very many, that they've disappointed me. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it, but yeah usually they slay live. Seem to be playing live a lot less often & with less fanfare. Last time I saw them in London it was barely advertised, smaller venue than usual & I only found out close to the date. They were over en route to a festival in Poland IIRC.

new album sounds less 90s somehow

thought that was baked into their dna or something

'before the moon' is kind of a bad trip

live kali yuga blues, vocals sound v clear even though overall sound is kinda shitty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfjvwGS09Io

bardo pond fucks the sky

That Funkadelic / Pharoah Sanders thing is AMAZING!

Well, yeah

Only heard snippets of the new LP but Isobel soumds AMAZING

*sounds

I haven't really heard any Bardo Pond since Amanita but the new one is fantastic.

i like them better since their drummer got all tuff

this poll is void since Peace On Venus is clearly their best now!

i dunno, i think the heaviest songs on the s/t are better jams, but that one does have some aimless folky spaceouts, ymmv

Still think the peyote blues of Set & Setting are the BP best, but Peace on Venus is immense.

Love the s/t (it's the album that sorta brought me back to this band after years of being outta the loop a bit) but the "Fir" > "Chance" > "Before The Moon" run of songs at the end of the new one is some next level shit (that may just be 'side 2,' dunno, haven't gotten vinyl version yet)

Yeah, new album is great. Has gotten better for me each time I listen to it.

Jimmywine otm but I still like the s/t more. Aimless folksy spaceouts are a must!

I can't remember if I voted in this poll, but Ticket Crystals is still their best by some margin. The new album is their most disappointing since "Dilate" (as in, still all right but disappointing).

nah Isobel sounds amazing (tho I get Dilate comparisons)

How did I only find out today about "Rise Above it All" and their cover of "Maggot Brain"? That EP (or whatever they're calling it) blows away anything from "Peace on Venus".

The new album is their most disappointing since "Dilate" (as in, still all right but disappointing).

Agree about Dilate, but Peace on Venus is ten times better!

Only when there are bad vibrations can it harm you.

http://thequietus.com/articles/14163-bardo-pond-interview

nic e

http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/prod/BardoPond-Refulgo-ThreeLobedRecordings-95470.html

dilate rules you guys are dumb.
xposts

"Dragonfly" is really cute, "Affa" is gnarly, but I'm not so sure about the rest of the tracks.

not even "hummingbird mountain"?

If it's the same version on Big Laughing Jym, which I never listen to, it hasn't made an impression on me.

Dusting off BLJ, hey, this isn't as forgettable as I remembered it being! "Dispersion" is rad, classic Bardo noise sludge.

'apple eye' is pretty sick—that constant stream of fuzzed out guitar

That description could apply to any song in their catalogue, but I still want to hear it.

stream kind of like if a can of silly string could be used to weaponize guitar fuzz. like a hose, but smaller.

!

a ribbon. an electric ribbon of fuzz. say a current. a live wire.

!!

a band, a plan,

Are you the (wo)man with the Bardo Plan?

shit leee, this is really good, since it's a comp they don't really try for any 'album' diversity, it's just straight up hypnotic jams from one to the other

They have another 12" coming out on RSD. Apparently is part 2 of a trilogy that started last year. This years covers are Ride Into The Sun and Here Comes the Warm Jets. Here comes the Warm Jets can be listened to on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/firerecords/bardo-pond-here-come-the-warm

OH SHUT UP
are they trying to play all the best songs before someone else gets to them?

sorry i got a little excited there
listening to this right now, it's pretty good
but it's kinda hard to fuck up "here come the warm jets"

also it's 16+ min long
isobel sounds like kim deal

They should do "Rocket Man" and "Fortunate Son" next.

the part at the end where they slow down is pretty great, like they're all totes exhausted
i guess this cover is alright

!!

Need to listen to these new covers! Last year's covers single was wonderful.

I remember Isobel saying on FB that the guys wanted to cover On the Beach

This years covers are Ride Into The Sun and Here Comes the Warm Jets.

OH YES [/dies happy]

Listen to it first!

They have another 12" coming out on RSD. Apparently is part 2 of a trilogy that started last year. This years covers are Ride Into The Sun and Here Comes the Warm Jets. Here comes the Warm Jets can be listened to on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/firerecords/bardo-pond-here-come-the-warm
― satans favourite son

oh hell yes
this has made me so happy

wonder if their cover of "here come(s) the warm jets" will rule as much as circle's did, on manner

It rules in a different way, more ramshackle.

show last night in philly was excellent, if too brief (opening for silver mt. zion). isobel has to be the best frontperson in rock

Ugh, they need to come out West again.

I may be more happy to see them at Austin Psych Fest than Loop.

Eno cover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzHGW9yQ8Kc&feature=youtu.be

Spoiler alert: 16 minutes long

Oh this is all upthread. Sorry.

these fun blown out cover 12" is are great

somehow the 'warm jets' cover makes them sound like a 90s alt group (i mean they are but you know what i mean)

Yes! In a totally good way.

What the, they released a compilation of early EP and non-album tracks last year!

Though looking at the track list, it seems I've heard most of these tunes and only two of them are, IIRC, worthwhile: http://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/refulgo

i dunno, i love Refulgo. best thing might be the epic Sangh Seriatim though

lol wtf we already went over this. xp

~Something~ about this band seems to promote forgetfulness.

don't know what you're talking about.
this hasn't been mentioned though, right? http://thekey.xpn.org/2015/02/04/kss-bardo-pond-underground-arts/

The final part of the covers trilogy is In Every Dream Home a Heart Ache and Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe. In Every Dream... can be listened to here: https://soundcloud.com/firerecords/bardo-pond-in-every-dream/s-FiYIe

I need that little animated gif of the smiley face that goes like :-O and then the mouth gets bigger and bigger until the face is blacked out and the mouth expands to cover the entire universe and suck in all light and matter to express how I feel about that.

Hope they put these out on CD or something because I never found the first two and doubt I'll find the third.

You can probably email them directly!

I mean to get them to collect the covers on CD. (Though I did get a complimentary copy of Cypher Docs 1 when I bought one of their volume CD-Rs, so they're pretty menschy about things.)

http://www.firerecords.com/site/index.php?page=release&releaseid=00000001095

3xCD collection of all three RSD EPs coming out at the end of the month! Whooo.

excellent news

Awesome. Now to promptly forget about this news and be surprised by it in September.

http://thequietus.com/articles/18286-bardo-pond-record-store-day-trilogy-review

Fire site sez that it's out already (6/22), and mine's already on the way.

got mine on order at the brick and mortar, they said 7/21

at first i was not sure about "maggot brain" - i kept wanting the solo to happen, and it didn't, which was frustrating! but it won me over through repetition.

the roxy cover is totally majestic, though

I ordered this at work and it's backordered from the distributor already - I feel like Fire are maybe not the best at shipping on time. Or our distro sucks. Anyway I'm impatient and want it NOW.

I just got a copy of Refulgo ('used'/sealed for $14!), and wow...it totally rules. I was expecting maybe some filler, but it's pretty much all killer. Side 4 is a highlight, but everything on it is scratching my Bardo itch.

Upcoming RSD thing again:

Bardo Pond - Acid Guru Pond     2LP Split Colour Vinyl

And as you might figure from the name, it's a collab with AMT, which, unless I'm mistaken, is the first time they've collabed?

Bardo Pond did collaborate with LSD March for archive records, and they have released at least one record with Tom Carter for Three Lobed.

https://www.discogs.com/LSD-Pond-LSD-Pond/release/1243207
https://www.discogs.com/Bardo-Pond-Tom-Carter-42303-42503/release/3366285

I meant specifically an AMT/Bardo collab -- weird that they've been in the same circle for years and this might be their first.

https://soundcloud.com/firerecords/bardo-pond-green

I love that LSD Pond record.

Fond memories of Bardo Pond + Kawabata team-up set at Terrastock Louisville

this acid guru pond rules

http://recordstoreday.co.uk/exclusive-releases/rsd-2016/bardo-pond/

Why did I wait so long to listen to Acid Guru Pond? This is awesome.

it's so great!

i think my actual favorite bardo pond-related thing is THIRD TROLL; Pharmacognosy is one of the shroomiest things ever recorded

I looooove Third Troll. Did they ever do that on vinyl?

Acid Guru Pond is on Spotify!

bardo pond are playing at a very small venue this weekend two nights in a row -- i am going to miss the first night because richard pinhas is also playing a very small venue but should i make an effort to catch bardo pond?

I've never seen them live. But based on their records - yes!

well yeah i mean i obviously like their records i just wondered what their live show is like

liiiiike are they gonna play pharaoh sanders covers or are they going to play one note for 45 min or all of the above or ?

AFAIK they play stuff from their albums, the weirder skronky stuff is saved for like Third Troll or other side project names.

seriously thinking about driving up to Chicago for the sunday show...that place is really tiny, though? i mean...could be cool, but could be terrible. a recent live set on nyctaper had a mix of recent, new, and old stuff, all of which sounded greeeeeat.

it's definitely small, yeah
also the sat nite show is being billed as Alumbrados?

Alumbrados is going to be skronkier!

I've only seen Bardo Pond once, sadly, but it was a great show. Big oceanic waves of titan hippie groove

i love this band

i kind of forget about how much i love them

Dang, Saturday night in Chicago is going to be a tough one!! I guess I'll figure it out.

under the pines is killer

More of the same, yes? (Would totally be down with that, btw.)

yeah except no super-long jams

it's the closest thing to a pop album they've ever released, and it totally works

I think it's great though I must admit I never heard the last couple

the 'acid guru temple' thing from last year is worth your time

Oh yeah, that's a jam, thanks for reminding me to buy it though!

Listening to the new on Spotify -- I swear I've seen "Crossover" on an old compilation or EP.

"Crossover" appeared in set-lists in early 2016. Any earlier?

Listened to Under the Pines again and I'm not feeling it. HOWEVER, Curanderos (I guess an EP?) is exactly my kind of jam.

curanderos is really good

yeah it is. took me way too long to listen but now oh man

there is a god

http://thekey.xpn.org/2017/11/20/bardo-pond-kailash/

Too short!

power children

And I will

Scaruffi:

Bardo Pond (2010) is a good display of both what they do best (the avalanche-like 13-minute The Stars Behind) and not so well (the self-indulgent 21-minute Undone).

Does he have ears? A heart, even?

Big Laughing Jym reissued: https://bardopondmusic.bandcamp.com/album/big-laughing-jym

Two long-form, single-track, CD-only albums being reissued by Three Lobed: https://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/adrop-circuit-viii

Circuit VIII is good!

This arrived today, listening now, its great! Circuit VIII is indeed a monster, and the pressing sounds great. I missed these releases the first time around, glad they got this reissue

🔥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL0N8nCdf2g

Previously unreleased track from Amanita, which is getting a deluxe reissue

https://thekey.xpn.org/2021/04/01/bardo-pond-amanita/?s=09

I thought it sounded like something from their early catalog!

I had no idea that they did this NTS thing SEVEN years ago: https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/bardo-pond-live-in-session-22nd-september-2014

Amanita remaster has a couple bonus tracks, and "Clean Sweep" sounds like Pixies x AMT.

They really dialed up the skronk on these two tracks.

gotta check those out

been really into the s/t 2010 album (fucking amazing!) and revisiting their early stuff lately, such a great great band.

They rule

A track that I just realize I loved is "Chance" on Peace on Venus, such a great balance of crushing noise and pretty, floating flute melodies.

Volume 9 out! I was a little bit worried having not heard new material in a long time (though this is stuff recorded from 2000).

Anyway, it's on the sedate side, but "War is Over, Part 2" is really something.