Man, It Feels Like Space Again, is the sixth album by Aussie rockers Pond. The band from Perth share three members of Tame Impala and started out in 2008 originally as a collaborative project, where they could get anyone they wanted to play with them. I first came across them early 2013 at Melbourne’s Laneway Festival. This was a “Eureka!” moment, a true modern-day rock’n’roll band with all the right attributes – they were immensely cool, a staggering lead singer who looked like he was one step away from rehab, a phenomenal guitarist playing incredible solos, and tracks which were unbelievably satisfying. Next day I sought out their then latest album, ‘Beard, Wives, Denim’, and it instantly became one of my all-time favourites, not having a track out of place. A good contender for the greatest rock album in recent memory I would say. After the sky-rocketing success of that 2012 album, Pond recorded Hobo Rocket which never really had the same powerful impact. Too many ideas were fighting for a top spot, making it feel a bit all over the place. Although ‘Giant Tortoise’ is still an epic track by any means, along with the dreamy sounding ‘O Dharma’.

 
Man, It Feels Like Space Again was written before, and then recorded the month after, Hobo Rocket had been finished. Throughout, you can hear little resemblances that show where their mind set was at the time. The first thing you notice about this album is its bright cover, which depicts each song as a psychedelic cartoon. A forewarning of the splendour that is to come.
 
Soft synths and Nick’s vocals begin a brilliant opener, ‘Waiting Around For Grace’, before the song opens up with guitars and harmonies. The layers of reverb confirm that this is indeed still the psychedelic rock band Pond. A rocket ship of distortion takes off to start ‘Elvis’ Flaming Star’ which is met with a punchy bassline and a driving drum line. Then a short melodic verse before crescendo, and bliss erupts into a super cool chorus. Nothing short of what you would expect from Pond. In ‘Holding Out For You’, Flaming Lips are definite influences in this laid back groove. Kevin Parker produced this album and you can hear similarities with downbeat songs of his Tame Impala. The wonky electro pop of ‘Zond’ could be likened to Klaxons or Does It Offend You Yeah!, but in a far more rock’n’roll psychedelic way. It takes the listener through bizarre celestial soundscapes that live beneath the track, towards the out of reach of Zond and into the never ending parts of space. The most accessible and danceable track of the album.
 
‘Heroic Shart’ is perhaps the least likeable song off the album. It is full of reverb and distortion that lives up to the psychedelic ideas that Pond live by, but it lacks the imagination and musical merit that the other songs have. It does however make the next song, ‘Sitting Up On Our Crane’, all the better. A slow “anxiety power ballad” that sends you into an enticing daydream of swirling synths and shimmering guitars. Apparently we are supposed to take the meaning of the lyrics literally, as it is about how they used to sit on tall machinery and look at the horizon. This is one of my favourites off the album. ‘Outside Is The Right Side’ is another favourite. Its mind tripping ideas and funkadelic bassline becomes an elated triumph at each chorus, still retaining its rock characteristics.
 
‘Medicine Hat’ starts as an acoustic Bob Dylan esque blues tribute, before the rest of the band come in making it a bit more of a Beatles esque tribute. A strange addition to the album, but midway through the psychedelic guitars are slowly layered on and it is nearly back to normal. A slow and heartfelt song that’s also beautiful. A mix of influences burst out of the final title track. Flaming Lips start it off, Pink Floyd come along next, with dashes of Beatles and smatterings of MGMT all around. There is some extremely debatable mixing at the 1:56 point, where it tries to combine two obviously separate song ideas (of which there are at least five in this track). It is very strange to think that they were happy to keep this in. I would have liked to see what they could have done with these track ideas, instead of trying to mix them into one. The last 2:30 is a glorious melancholic phase that could have been a stand out song on its own, instead, it is just an amazing finish to the album.
 
Pond continue their prolific nature of pushing psychedelia past the modern day and into the future, with an album that is just short of ground breaking. It does miss the timelessness and the raw uncut intensity that was so apparent in Beard, Wives, Denim – more of a slap around the head, than a kick in the balls – although it does show that they are pushing forward their musical ideas instead of trying to emulate what has worked in the past. After listening to this album more than 6 times today, I’m still not bored of it. In fact, I’m liking it more and more with each listen
Iain Launder