Bringing forth a brand of stoner rock where the tag applies more to the maker than the listener, it’s only fitting that we’re late to the party with Pond’s “Xanman”. The track is the second single from the band’s latest effort, Hobo Rocket, and like the rest of the album “Xanman” is a bumble-fumble of fuzz fronted by Nick Allbrook. That’s right, the ex-bassist from that other Australian band, Tame Impala.
Yet while Tame Impala peg songs of solitude that politely ask you to put on your headphones, “Xanman” is a joyous riff-fest where all of the stages accidentally got crammed next to one another and all of the bands got scheduled at the same time. It’s a pure-fun mess of sights and sounds, time shifts, and (of course) those crawling basslines that used to move all over Tame Impala’s best stuff.
And while — at its simplest — “Xanman” is just six minutes of Allbrook doing his best Ty Segall-style spasm by running an entire room ragged and calling out for “XAAAANMAAAAAN!” a bunch of times, it’s pretty glorious. And by the end of it, Xanman sure does seem like the man, man.