Since its classic psych-sludge/noise-gaze debut, Bufo Alvarius, appeared in 1995, Bardo Pond has stood out in its oversaturated corner of the underground thanks to the haunting vocals of singer/flutist Isobel Sollenberger and the dirge-vs.-lead guitar onslaught of the Gibbons brothers, the latter lending the band a serious heaviness that was uncommon among its peers. After a slower post-millennial stretch that saw two LPs on ATP Records, Bardo Pond moved to U.K.-based safe haven Fire Records in 2010 and has since released a clutch of EPs and three full-lengths with the label (2014’s Refulgo was on their own Three-Lobed Recordings imprint), with Under The Pines being the most recent. While there are no arm-hair-raisers like “Tommy Gun Angel” (from 1997’s Lapsed) or “Capillary River” (from the aforementioned debut) here, the album is the reliable mix of shorter, inverted blues-rock dirges and extended workouts one has come to expect from this well-oiled machine.
—Andrew Earles
