Bardo Pond
Set and Setting
Matador

There was once a piece of propaganda on television that featured two stereotypical burned-out pot smokers lying around the house saying things to the effect of "People are crazy when they talk about how bad drugs are — we've been smoking up for ages. Nothing's ever happened to us." The announcer intoned, "Marijuana can make nothing happen to you, too." If Nancy Reagan and Co.'s pap were true, one might see less evolution in the sounds of modern psychedelic rock. This is not the case here, as Philadelphia's Bardo Pond emerges triumphantly from a cloud of smoke, blazing new trails with Set and Setting.

BP is not afraid to fly the freak flag high, what with naming two of their full length albums after hallucinogenic mushrooms (Amanita, Big Laughing Jym). Luckily for them and their audience, drug use hasn't stunted BP's artistic growth. Set and Setting is easily their most consistent record. On Amanita, a listener might have to skip around to find a gem among the muck. Lapsed came closer to a 100-percent perfect record, but there were still one or two tracks that made even the most dedicated fan shrug and say "Well, they're still amazing live!"

Surprisingly, this record isn't just Under Glass Part 2 (the most recent record from Hash Jar Tempo, BP's collaboration with guitarist Roy Montgomery). There are elements here not found in Under Glass, such as the addition of violin, harmonica and synthesizers.

Those in the indie know might tell you that S&S is a more "bluesy" affair than previous BP albums, but any blues you'll find here is of a sort deeper than the bed of the Mississippi and more damaged than John Lee Hooker through the fuzzboxes of Hades. What some people hear as blues, others will hear as Middle Eastern, such as "Lull" or "Cross Current."

The greatest thing about this record is how it flows seamlessly from one end to the other, yet still manages great dynamic shifts. Bardo Pond cooks up better psychedelic guitar sludge than almost anyone, but this time out, they throw in other discernable stringed sounds, too. They've broadened their palette emotionally as well, and the result is a record that ranges from the epic solar flares of "This Time (So Fucked)" to the pure evil dirge "Crawl Away."

— Pearson Greer (el_syzygy@disinfo.net)