“chumbucket”

PNTHN—pronounced “pantheon”—are a ragtag bunch of dudes from San Marcos, Texas making beats and slinging raps that nod to their home state’s screw music. Unapologetically goofy and full of characters, they continue the lineage of oddball rap groups that includes Odd Future and Brockhampton. “chumbucket,” the highlight of their recently released Potluck EP, is a posse cut of whimsical rhymes over slick production and diverse flows. It’s a low stakes, charming advertisement for their dynamic as a collective—an “accidental miracle,” as member TwoHorizonRa describes it.

“chumbucket,” apparently titled after the fictional failing restaurant in “SpongeBob SquarePants,” opens with a nostalgic chopped-and-screwed vocal sample that burrows into a soulful beat laced with hi-hats. Produced by Por Vida, it’s a delicate fusion of a quintessentially Texas hip-hop sound with a trendy lo-fi synth melody. Over his instrumental, a motley team of eight rappers deliver gooey, nimble verses that hit on a range of references, from The Transformers to “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” to the 1968 sci-fi film Barbarella, painting a still life of girls, cars, parties, and crews. Aside from a pumped-up chorus from Pink Ranger, there’s barely a through line or a standout verse. But they mesh together in a way that suggests that’s exactly the point: PNTHN is greater than the sum of its parts. And despite its name, “chumbucket” is hardly a fail.