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Hobo Rocket
Studio album by
Pond
Released2 August 2013 (2013-08-02) (AUS)
RecordedJuly 2012
Studio
  • Dirt Diamond
  • Poached Egg
(Perth, Western Australia)
Genre
Length34:00
LabelModular
ProducerKevin Parker
Pond chronology
Beard, Wives, Denim
(2012) 		Hobo Rocket
(2013) 		Man It Feels Like Space Again
(2015)
Singles from Hobo Rocket
  1. "Giant Tortoise"
    Released: 1 February 2013[1]
  2. "Xanman"
    Released: 18 June 2013[2]

Hobo Rocket is the fifth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band Pond, released in Australia on 2 August 2013, through Modular Recordings.

Hobo Rocket appeared at 37th on the ARIA Charts two weeks after release.[3]

Recording

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Hobo Rocket is Pond's shortest album, in terms of track length and run time, with just seven tracks, clocking in at exactly 34 minutes. The album was recorded in July 2012, five months after the release of their previous album, Beard, Wives, Denim. Five of the seven songs were recorded at Dirt Diamond Studios, "Midnight Mass (At the Market Street Payphone)" and "Hobo Rocket" were recorded at Poached Egg Studios. The album was engineered by Clint Oliver, mastered by Rob Grant at Poon's Head Studio, and was produced by Kevin Parker.[4]

Release

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Two singles were released as free digital downloads to promoted the album. The first, "Giant Tortoise", was released on 15 May 2013 alongside the announcement of the new album.[1] The second single, "Xanman", was released on 18 June 2013.[2]

Hobo Rocket was released in Australia on 2 August 2013, in the United Kingdom and Europe on 5 August 2012, and in the United States and day later.[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.9/10[6]
Metacritic71/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
ConsequenceC [9]
DIY8/10[10]
Exclaim!8/10[11]
Guardian Australia[12]
The Independent[13]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[14]
MusicOMH[15]
NME[16]
Now3/5[17]
Pitchfork5.9/10[18]
Sputnikmusic3.9/5[19]
Tiny Mix Tapes[20]

Hobo Rocket received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the release received an average score of 71, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[7]

Live performances

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Following the release of Hobo Rocket, Pond toured Australia in December 2013, performing in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney across nine days.[21] The band performed numerous shows across Australia in February and April 2014, and supported Arctic Monkeys during their tour of Australia and New Zealand. In May, they performed at Primavera in Barcelona, and in June, they performed at Field Day in London.[22] According to Setlist.fm, "Giant Tortoise" is one of the band's most played songs live.[23] The rest of the songs are fairly uncommon; "Aloneaflameaflower" was played during their 2024 tour, appearing for the first time since 2019, "Whatever Happened to the Million Head Collide?" was last played in 2020, "Midnight Mass (At the Market Street Payphone)" in 2018, and "Xanman" and "O Dharma" in 2014. The titular track, "Hobo Rocket", has never been played live.[37]

Track listing

[edit]
Hobo Rocket
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Whatever Happened to the Million Head Collide?"
4:42
2."Xanman"
  • Allbrook
  • Watson
5:50
3."O Dharma"
4:56
4."Aloneaflameaflower"Allbrook4:32
5."Giant Tortoise"
  • Watson
  • Allbrook
  • Ryan
4:12
6."Hobo Rocket"
  • Ryan
  • Cowboy John
3:35
7."Midnight Mass (At the Market Street Payphone)"
  • Allbrook
  • Watson
6:13
Total length:34:00

Personnel

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Pond

  • Nick Allbrook – vocals (tracks 1–5, 7), guitars (tracks 1–2, 4, 7), synthesiser (tracks 1, 3–4, 7), bass (tracks 3, 5–7), lead guitar (track 6)
  • Jay Watson – guitars (tracks 1–2, 5, 7), piano (tracks 1, 3), keys (tracks 2, 6), vocals (tracks 3, 5), backing vocals (track 3), electric guitar (track 3), synthesiser (tracks 3–7), drums (tracks 3, 7), zither (track 5), tambourine (track 7)
  • Joe Ryan – bass (tracks 1, 4), guitars (track 2), vocals (track 3), backing vocals (track 3), acoustic guitar (track 3), synthesiser (track 3), sitar (tracks 3, 6), rhythm guitar (track 6), drums (track 6), tambourine (track 6)
  • Cam Avery – drums (tracks 1–2, 4–5), slide guitar (track 3)
  • Pond – backing vocals (track 2)

Additional

  • Dave Parkin – saxophone (track 1)
  • Cowboy John – vocals (track 6)

Technical personnel

  • Kevin Parker – production and mixing
  • Rob Grant – mastering
  • Clint Oliver – engineering
  • Amber Bateup – photography

Charts

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Chart (2013) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[3][38] 37
Australian Physical Albums (ARIA)[38] 33
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[38] 41

References

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  1. ^ a b "Pond unveil new track 'Giant Tortoise'". Modular People. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Pond – Xanman". Modular People. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Pond - Hobo Rocket". australian-charts.com.
  4. ^ Hobo Rocket (Liner notes). Modular Recordings. 2013.
  5. ^ "Pond - Hobo Rocket". Modular People. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Hobo Rocket by Pond reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Critic reviews for Hobo Rocket". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024.
  8. ^ Lymangrover, Jason. "Hobo Rocket - Pond". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013.
  9. ^ Mejia, Paula (31 July 2013). "Pond - Hobo Rocket". Consequence. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013.
  10. ^ Hunt, El. "Pond - Hobo Rocket". DIY. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013.
  11. ^ Gormely, Ian (2 August 2013). "Pond - Hobo Rocket". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
  12. ^ Simpson, Dave (2 August 2013). "Pond: Hobo Rocket". Guardian Australia. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013.
  13. ^ Gill, Andy (2 August 2013). "Pond, Hobo Rocket (Modular Recordings)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013.
  14. ^ Griffin, Kelly (1 August 2013). "Pond - Hobo Rocket". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
  15. ^ Marsh, Graeme (1 August 2013). "Pond - Hobo Rocket". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on 3 August 2013.
  16. ^ Perry, Kevin (2 August 2013). "Pond - Hobo Rocket". NME. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013.
  17. ^ "Pond". Now. 8–15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013.
  18. ^ Cohen, Ian (7 August 2013). "Pond: Hobo Rocket". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013.
  19. ^ SgtPeppers (11 August 2013). "Pond (AUS) - Hobo Rocket". Sputnikmusic.
  20. ^ Griffin, Alex. "Pond - Hobo Rocket". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013.
  21. ^ "Pond". Modular People. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Pond news - Rage, Spicks & Specks, Arctic Monkeys". Modular People. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014.
  23. ^ "Pond - Songs played total". Setlist.fm.
  24. ^ "Whatever Happened to the Million Head Collide? performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  25. ^ "Whatever Happened to the Million Head Collide /Alpha Beta Gaga performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  26. ^ "Xanman performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  27. ^ "O Dharma performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  28. ^ "Aloneaflameaflower performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  29. ^ "Giant Tortoise performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  30. ^ "Giant Tortoise / Eye Pattern Blindness performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  31. ^ "Giant Tortoise / Torn Asunder performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  32. ^ "Moth Wings / Giant Tortoise performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  33. ^ "Moth Wings / Giant Tortoise / Eye Pattern Blindness performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  34. ^ "Giant Tortoise / Pond in a Park performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  35. ^ "Jam / Giant Tortoise / Pond in a Park performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  36. ^ "Midnight Mass (At the Market St. Payphone) performed by Pond". Setlist.fm.
  37. ^ Live performances of songs from Hobo Rocket:
  38. ^ a b c "ARIA Report 1224" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2015.
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