Jun 26 2008
Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual
Ponytail
Ice Cream Spiritual
We Are Free; 2008
Honestly, after writing reviews for 2 years now and being an active and conscious music listener for 15, it can take a lot to really impress me. Sure, there are acts that I hold up as being definitive examples of “my” music, the bands around whom I center my tastes and preferences, but I’ve had to learn how to turn off my inner fan boy in order to critically examine their music as best as possible. Thus, I’d like to think that I possess a fairly dense filter through which music passes before it breaches my personal “Wow” pantheon – the music must be creative yet classic, risky yet realistic, arty yet accessible. And without a doubt, Ice Cream Spiritual from the crazy Baltimore outfit Ponytail fits the bill and even more. Led by the indecipherable, indefinable, yet unmistakable caterwauling of Molly Siegel and produced by the inestimable J. Robbins (of Dinosaur Jr.), this release is packed to the gills with a rich, deep, and heady blend of punk furor, art-rock prowess, and experimental glee. The album glistens with the idealistic promise of youth, yet maintains a pounding, driving level of frustration throughout each and every track: guitars and voices ring alternately from echoing, reverberating peaks to raw, rough-and-tumble valleys. The premier tracks on the record are easily the boisterous 7-minute “single” that is “Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came from an Angel)” and fun and flighty “Die Allman Bruder.” Fans of Deerhoof and any project from Carla Bozulich will love what they hear on Ice Cream Spiritual – Ponytail is not to be missed.
Fun Ponytail Material!
“Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came from an Angel)” single
“Die Allman Bruder” video
