‘Amanita’ set stage for Pond’s depth

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Jan. 7, 2005 | 8:41 a.m.

If you're the kind of person who only enjoys music you can sing along with, avoid Bardo Pond at all costs.

Technically speaking, many of the Philadelphia band's compositions do feature lyrics, sung by vocalist Isobel Sollenberger.

But I defy anyone to decipher Sollenberger's words, hauntingly half-sung, half-wailed and often laced with otherworldly echo treatment.

It's a most atypical vocal approach, but it suits Bardo Pond's approach perfectly. Rather than tell a story, lyrics simply add to the mood, as if Sollenberger's voice was another guitar.

Not that their mix needs more guitar. For more than 10 years, brothers John and Michael Gibbons have been cranking the volume -- and tweaking their effect pedals -- to create Bardo Pond's noisy brand of psychedelic drone-rock.

For newcomers, 1996's "Amanita," the band's first album for Matador Records, provides an excellent point of entry, though subsequent efforts "Lapsed" (1997), "Dilate" (2001) and "On the Ellipse" (2003) are also worth seeking out.

"Limerick," the opening track on "Amanita," sets the tone for the rest of the 10-track disc, opening with howling twin guitars and bristling with feedback and distortion.

Some four minutes in, the piece begins to move, as first bassist Clint Takeda and drummer Joe Culver and then Sollenberger join in for the song's captivating middle section.

Bardo Pond's music is filled with such moments of high drama. Tunes start innocently, build toward deafening crescendos and then return to earth.

The divine "Tantric Porno," for example, begins as a graceful dirge before detonating in a burst of barely harnessed commotion.

Forceful as Bardo Pond comes across on CD, it's nothing compared to the live experience. Standing near the stage for their set at 2003's "All Tomorrow's Parties" festival, I was almost literally blown backward by the sheer intensity of their sound.

Try singing along to that.

Artist: Bardo Pond.

Title: "Amanita."

Year of release: 1996 (Matador Records).

Tracklisting: "Limerick," "Sentence," "Tantric Porno," "Wank," "The High Frequency," "Sometimes Words," "Yellow Turban," "Rumination," "Be a Fish," "Tapir Song," "RM."