Battered Boyfriend by Creature from Dell Pond
Gordon Pond has found his voice.
Battered Boyfriend is his first release as a solo composer and vocalist, but it finds him still carrying the moniker of his former group project, Creature from Dell Pond. This EP marks his introduction as a full-time lyricist but links him irrevocably to his past, highlighting all the ways in which time creates disjointed paths to and from the present.
And while this release is rooted in Pond's past, it takes bold steps in a new direction. Where former Creature from Dell Pond releases played irreverently with metaphor in dissonant sound, Battered Boyfriend is steeped in pith, painting stark, heavy silhouettes of the dissolution of friendships and abusive relationships. Both the lyrics and sound move strikingly beyond the content and form of previous Creature from Dell Pond output, providing new moments that are simultaneously more tender and harsh.
The opening track provides a yearning funeral dirge that condemns and grieves broken natures. The lyrics consider the childhood and childish excuses we give for our actions. They go as far as to call people out by name for their accusations, quoting lines of tragic, not possibly imaginary conversations.
"Regis" moves much more quickly and cuts us a break for our failures, acknowledging how we do our best, even as we may utterly fail ourselves and our friends. The hook senses that broken relationships begin with brokenness closer to home, as Pond drones over and over "I don't know how to love myself" and comes to see how his present is a continuation of his father's path, a shattered link across splintered time.
The closing duo of songs tackle the album title head on, considering the origins, instances, and effects of abuse and domestic violence. How can we talk about the violence victims experience? The anger? The shame? Especially when their narratives don't fit the norms understood by our communities, leaving us no language to articulate these traumas. Here, Pond grapples for words and finds, not answers, but solace in the essential, ending the album abruptly with an age-old adage: "The truth will set me free."
Battered Boyfriend is embedded in a past both distant and close-by. Citing childhood traumas and current Chicago locations that are seemingly the background of these events, these four tracks are steeped in history and consider how entangled we all are in our own narratives. The themes developed here embrace the complexity of interpersonal experiences and are just the beginning of Pond's untangling them and finding a voice with which to speak.
Tracklist
| 1. | N Francisco Ave, Chicago, IL | 3:47 |
| 2. | Regis Rd, Marshfield, MA | 3:16 |
| 3. | N Campbell Ave, Chicago, IL (part 1) | |
| 4. | N Campbell Ave, Chicago, IL (part 2) | |
Credits
music & lyrics written, produced & arranged by gordon pond
gordon pond - bass, guitars, organs, vocals, feedback
marc drake - drums (except for track 3)
rob fletcher - auxiliary percussion, drums on track 3
tj kallaher - outro lead guitar on track 1, verse lead guitar on track 2
engineered & mixed by rob majchrowski at two states
mastered by carl saff
foreword by amelia hruby
artwork by paola martinez
special thanks to: rob, amelia, eli, jakob, alex mann, nick alvarez, david ladon, serena & her crew, ian sutherland, athena sarpy, fletch, marc, tj, david curtin, eric, the club soda crew, skyler, mattie, paola, ruby, luke, ken, jim, giancarlo, blythe, chris, matt, nolan, noah, ian, rahim, bento, lauren & the earphoria gang, ryan, kendra & mom, jack & tracy, and everyone else who i may have forgotten
if you've experienced domestic abuse, 'violent partners' by linda mills is an excellent resource
