Though the artwork on Man Man's latest record cover appears cozy, suggesting an album of sweetly strange innocence, the flat-out surrealism closer inspection uncovers is perhaps a better indicator of the band's take on indie rock. Man Man may have grown considerably more tame, as their pleasant single, "Head On," from On Oni Pond reveals, but edginess and discontent still bob alongside the accordions, horns, and thick beats.
"Are you satisfied with sitting here, waiting for heaven forever?" asks Man Man's mastermind, Honus Honus, on "King Shiv." And fortunately, the band is not overly patient, keeping their experimental spirit intact. On "Loot My Body," they hover somewhere between Modest Mouse and Mother Mother, making pop hooks sound subversive and wickedly smart.
Even if calculated restraint occassionally reins in Man Man's hyperactive potential, On Oni Pond is a deviant little work of pastiche-pop. Though the repetitive prance of chords that underlies many of the songs may grow overly familiar for some, the unified current does push Man Man's boat from one side of the pond to the other with style and grace. Honus Honus has balanced radio-friendly production and song structure with his own curious, free-range aesthetics, and the results are often fascinating.
Grade: B
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