This is Pond’s umpteenth album. The tag ‘Tame Impala side project’ has never been apt, and by now Pond have grabbed a fan base of their very own. However, the Perth-cum-Melbourne collective have thus far failed to deliver an album that fully demonstrates their brilliance.
It remains to be seen whether Man It Feels Like Space Again is the one, but it persuasively displays that peddling a throwback sound needn’t be compromising. What we get here is a lot of theatrical glam with a heap of dreamy meandering thrown in for good measure. Hearing busty, sillier tunes like ‘Elvis’ Flaming Star’ balanced out by exercises in tripadelic excellence, such as ‘Holding Out For You’, evokes thoughts of Mercury Rev taking on T-Rex, with sprinkles of Ariel Pink’s humour.
You know that feeling when everything in your head starts moving really fast and you haven’t the power to stop it? As a consequence, whatever enters your perceptive field appears exceedingly slow, which creates a dizzying sensation? This is basically what listening to Man It Feels Like Space Again feels like.
Pond’s tunes never reach frenetic pace, but when the treadmill motion of ‘Zond’ weaves into the joint-passing lethargy of ‘Heroic Shart’, one’s perceptions are thrown way out of whack.
3.5/5.
Man It Feels Like Space Againis out now throughEMI.
