Bardo Pond
Ticket Crystals
ATP Recordings

Psychedelic sound experiments are the wellspring of everything Bardo Pond is about. Several of their song titles are derived from drug epithets, and the music behind them drips with echoing guitar riffs, eerie and droning violin and flute passages, and occasional vocal nuances. Laid-back bass and drums are the glue that holds these mental excursions together.

Now in their fifteenth year, Bardo Pond continues making their mark with uniquely psychedelic, avant-garde music. A Wikipedia entry calls Bardo Pond’s music “drug inspired,” and it does relate to that of Pink Floyd and even late-period Beatles. In fact, Ticket Crystals includes a rendition of “Cry Baby Cry.”

”Lost Word” is a psychedelic and tribal representation of what Ticket Crystals has to offer. At only six-and-a-half minutes in length, it is one of the shorter songs on the album. “Lost Words” begins and ends with ceremonial bells ringing, and includes psychedelic guitar and soft, long vocal subtleties.

Bardo Pond stretches the limits established by mainstream rock music. Ensembles like this are what keep music a creative art and keep us challenging our musical boundaries. Without avant-garde groups like this, it would be all too tempting to continue thinking and creating within the constraints we feel we must adhere to.

http://www.myspace.com/bardopond