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Logically, Pony Girl is the younger version
of Horsegirl. I mean, semantically it makes
sense. But Horsegirl are a band of young (late
teen/early 20s) Chicagoans who make angular
post-punk and Pony Girl are a band of
twenty-something Ottowans who make delicate
pop music. No real relation between the bands,
other than a certain naming similarity.
Laff It Off is Pony Girl's
fourth release, and the band certainly seem to
have figured out what they are doing. This is
complex pop music, with keyboards, horns,
layers of vocals, and catchy melodies.
They start off with a Laff It Off, a
song of joyous vocals, catchy melodies, and
haphazard rhythms. The careless swagger of
this song reminds me of Sego, in a
way. This is a fun song with a great bass
riff.
Highways is softer, the voice quiet
and the music sparse on the verses but
swelling up on the chorus into dense popiness.
The bridge features a noodling piano and a
synth line seemingly wandered in from a nearby
Styx tune, out of place but not unwanted, as
the keys and piano build and the drums fade
in... Very pretty.
Pony Girl next give us a brief interlude of
wordless vocals, field recordings of birds,
and light piano. Never Again sounds
like a relaxing summer day, with birds and
sounds moving in and out, and then ends with
the static of rain.
I Believe In Nothing is a little
deeper, the bass a rolling riff that drives
the song along as the guitar clatters. Again,
on a slightly faster song, something in the
unhurried vocals reminds me of Sego.
Come Good is slow and vaguely
melancholy, the piano staccato and spread out
ver lethargic drums as the male and female
voices harmonize. Another pretty tune.
The next tune, Laura is instrumental
is a way that is more cinematic than
atmospheric. Apparently, vocalist Pascal Huot
also makes films, and he made a movie to go with
thie piece, or maybe he made the music to
accompany a visual story he wanted to tell.
The whole thing seems a little more
complicated than the standard video/song
relationship. The song is pretty, and the
movie is slow and somewhat sad. Not sure what
it is all about, but it's nice.
Pony Girl take another interlude next, I
Am Water. This is a sort interlude of
western guitar, computer mangled vocals, and
sax. It kind of reminds me of Knife in the
Water.
The next tune is my favorite on the record, Wannabe.
It is slow pop, delicate, mournful, and
beautiful. Again i feel a faint Knife in the
Water vibe, but that might be spill over from
the previous tunes western guitar. This is
classic slowcore pop though, with voices
oohing, drums tapping, and a mournful sax but
in the middle. It captures a dream, a song, a
mood. Beautiful.
Greater Than Good is another slow song
that brings things to a conclusion. Voice and
piano, mostly, and simply beautiful. A nice
fade out to the record.
Laff It Off is a very pretty
album. Pony Girl are making slow pop with
emphasis on craftsmanship and beauty. And they
do it well.
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