Originally released in 2003, this is Bardo Pond's sixth release. Formed in Philadelphia in 1989 by brothers John and Michael Gibbons, Bardo Pond is one of the most mesmerizing bands of the past few years. On The Ellipse s... more »ounds like a heavy mix of Sabbath riffs blended with the folk beauty of Led Zep III - a broad-stroked swirl of heavy riffs, improvised jams and acoustic meditations. Often quoted as being Mogwai's favorite band, Bardo Pond performed at the very first ATP festival, as well as being hand-picked by Sonic Youth for their ATP in Los Angeles. Both heavy and intense, Bardo Pond possesses a hypnotic spell that lures you into a psychedelic lair and always leaves you wanting more.« less
Originally released in 2003, this is Bardo Pond's sixth release. Formed in Philadelphia in 1989 by brothers John and Michael Gibbons, Bardo Pond is one of the most mesmerizing bands of the past few years. On The Ellipse sounds like a heavy mix of Sabbath riffs blended with the folk beauty of Led Zep III - a broad-stroked swirl of heavy riffs, improvised jams and acoustic meditations. Often quoted as being Mogwai's favorite band, Bardo Pond performed at the very first ATP festival, as well as being hand-picked by Sonic Youth for their ATP in Los Angeles. Both heavy and intense, Bardo Pond possesses a hypnotic spell that lures you into a psychedelic lair and always leaves you wanting more.
"Duck out of your next electroshock session, don your noise-cancelling headphones, climb up on a rooftop in a major city and listen to this album cranked to eleven while watching the tiny people below scurrying back and forth like worker drones in your own private ant farm. Don't jump, now; a merger with the Godhead is nigh.
Bardo Pond, bless 'em, are a high colonic for your brain, and this is my favorite BP release since, er...their last record, I suppose. Initiates will find it pleasurably soothing, novices will wonder where they've been all their lives and the worker drones will go ignorantly about their little businesses. I played this album for my dog and she grew an opposable thumb.Bliss."
Disappointing
The Rarebit Fiend | Providence, RI United States | 01/09/2004
(2 out of 5 stars)
"By all means this is not a bad album. In fact, if they had never produced anything else, it would be amazing. However, Bardo Pond have always been trailblazers in the realm of psychedelic rock, each album contributing new sounds to their bag of tricks. I remember being amazed at how many changes and variations occured on Dilate, and yet they still managed to have a consistent, whole sound. Popping in Ellipse, I found myself bored as track after track provided nothing that hadn't been thoroughly explored by the group in previous outings. Indeed, it seems like they took the first track off Dilate and multiplied it six times, each track starting on a mellow riff and building to a loud, emotional finish. I'll give them that its their most consistent sounding recording to date, but I feel that it results in a stagnant, repetitive and unimaginative album. Very disappointing in light of brilliant and exciting works such as Lapsed or Dilate."
Fantabulousorific!
Jeffrey Hubbard | Murray, UT United States | 05/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm listening to this on, of all things, a six pack, and I can't even tell you how beatific it sounds! I'll openly acknowledge that this is my first Bardo record, so, accordingly, I'll speak as a neophyte. This is head and shoulders above so much of what is masquerading as neo-psyche, etc. now a days. I'm definitely going to investigate other Bardo recordings, but for the time being, this will feed my head just fine. Don't be misled by the Yo La Tengo or Mogwai comparisons (though I am a big fan of the former); this is its own thing, all together. And, I know from my listen on the way home from the record store, this doesn't require any sort of altered state to ensure serious enjoyment."
Mood music
alexliamw | Oxford | 10/21/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"'On The Ellipse' is one of those albums that gradually builds and crafts a mood throughout, never letting a note break the feel. Lilting, sleepy vocals drift over pastoral acoustics and howling distortions on a psychadelic, dream-like canvas. Like Sonic Youth meets Mogwai, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and Opeth and together they are swept into a night-time dreamworld where everything is slowed and buzzes like a different reality. My only criticism of the album is that it rarely varies style and all 6 of the long pieces here follow the same sort of a structure. It feels like it could be a movie soundtrack: for an eerie, cyber-alternate, drugged-up underworld of a film. The way flutes sit over resounding, deafening over-distorted guitars really is heavenly. This is a wonderful underground recording which though too specialised to be appealing to everyone, or even the majority of people, and only right for certain moods, is glorious for those of us that do enjoy this sort of music."