Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual

  by Andrew Carver

published: 27 / 9 / 2008

Label: We are Free
Format: CD

intro

Excellent garage rock from Baltimore-based band Ponytail, which nevertheless leaves the over riding impression that the best place to catch them is live on stage

Ponytail are one of those bands where, having heard their CD, the listener immediately thinks “That sounds like a great band to see live.” The album’s producers admit as much, saying that the main purpose of ‘Ice Cream Spiritual’ was to embody the band’s on-stage frenzy. Whether it succeeds will have to remain the opinion of someone who has heard both show and album, but even trapped in a shiny plastic disc the band leaves the impression of impulse gone wild. Vocalist Molly Siegel’s whooping, crowing, cackling and occasional singing is closely pursued by the blistering twin guitars of Dustin Wong and Ken Seeno, with drummer Jeremy Hyman All the clatter on the disk would probably become tedious after too much listening, and the band wisely cuts it short after the half-hour mark. The only song on the album that really stretches out is ‘Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel)’ at seven minutes, and even that changes course more than once (you can forget about keeping track of choruses, verses and bridges on a Ponytail track). Their caffeinated sound will likely remind experience travelers of the fringes of Deerhoof, as well as Ecstatic Sunshine (an obvious comparison, since Wong is a member of both bands), while the heavy rhythms and nonsense vocals reminds one of The Boredoms/Voredoms/OOlOO axis of bands. Fans of those bands and similarly manic combos like Duchess Says should get a kick out of ‘Ice Cream Spiritual’ – but no one’s going to kid themselves into believing that it’s going to match catching them on stage.

Track Listing:-