Hobo Rocket
by Pond
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
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  1. Q Magazine
    Feb 4, 2014
    60
    It's a winningly demented mix of ADHD garage rock, wonky psychedelia and massive, foot-on-monitor guitar riffs. [Oct 2013, p.109]
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  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Aug 26, 2013
    50
    The execution may be on point, but the personality is absent, the ideas are fewer, and the experience is all-up flat, no matter how raw and flashy the playing.
  3. NOW Magazine
    Aug 8, 2013
    60
    Pond still appreciate the glue of a hummable pop hook and the intoxicating pyschedelia of headphone tricks, but the most satisfying way to hear Hobo Rocket is turning it up as loud as it’ll go.
  5. Under The Radar
    Aug 8, 2013
    60
    Parts of the album feel too sloppy, too wayward, and too unfocused to really encourage repeated listens. When Pond tightens their sound, the cutting grooves are hard to ignore.
  6. Pitchfork
    Aug 7, 2013
    59
    Hobo Rocket draws out the indulgence, more than happy to engage in dumb fun without bringing much to the party.
  7. No Ripcord
    Aug 6, 2013
    40
    Pond constantly struggle to find a balance between prog, classic yuppie rock and psychedelia in Hobo Rocket, cramming a cheat sheet of tired rock trappings and psychedelic clichés that were already fatigued even before corporate rock detoxified its very essence.
  8. PopMatters
    Aug 6, 2013
    60
    Pond, for all the relative brevity of each track, makes Hobo Rocket sound as long as a double-album of old, and its model rests on gatefolds and Hipgnosis icons.
  9. The Guardian
    Aug 1, 2013
    60
    It doesn't all hang together--sometimes there are just too many ideas jostling for supremacy and Aloneaflameaflowe gradually gets lost in a garage haze. They're at their best when they ease off and allow their psychedelic majesty to shine through.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. Mattydigs
    Aug 27, 2013
    8
    Don't listen to the critics. Personally, I found it to be better, as a whole, than Grizzly Bear's 'Shields' or the much lauded 'Lonerism' byDon't listen to the critics. Personally, I found it to be better, as a whole, than Grizzly Bear's 'Shields' or the much lauded 'Lonerism' by Tame Impala. It has an equal measure of subtlety and huge in-your-face moments, sometimes even occurring at the same time. If you like psychedelic music (like the Flaming Lips, for example) then check this out.… Full Review »
  2. Forest90
    Sep 14, 2013
    8
    Yes 7 tracks is probably not enough to be considered a full album selling at full album prices rather than as an EP, but it clocks in atYes 7 tracks is probably not enough to be considered a full album selling at full album prices rather than as an EP, but it clocks in at 35-minutes making it longer than many albums with 11 or more tracks. The fact is that all the tracks bar the final one are strong, fun, catchy and thrilling psych-rock. You can tell Pond do not take themselves too seriously and it comes across in their music, and never more so than here. If you were feeling melancholic before sticking this album on you will feel much better by the end.… Full Review »
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