The prevalent comparisons to Deerhoof given to Baltimore's Ponytail are only valid up to a point; there is a certain similarity to the way their guitars contort, as well as a shared desire to beat drumkits to a quivering jelly. And yes, as band photos make clear, the microphone at the front of this tangled mess of sound belongs to a petite young lass. But really Molly Siegel (the lass in question) has less in common with Satomi Matsuzaki than she does with a Tasmanian devil. Cute is a tough adjective for me to deny her, but cutesy? Not even close.
"7 Souls," from the band's impending Ice Cream Spiritual, has reckless abandon bulging through unraveling seams. Siegel's barely articulated whooping is an agitating influence on music that's already jittery enough to mix paint. The lack of inhibition actually puts me in mind of early Liars' tracks, and not only because her unhinged jaw makes the song's "One soul...two soul..." countdown a dead ringer for the "One sir...two sir..." breakdown in the 2002 classic "Pillars Were Hollow And Filled With Candy, So We Tore Them Down." I think you can burn calories just by listening to this.
Ponytail »
we saw them during cmj. our first thought was, WTF?! but then, we figured out their story. you see, the dudes in the band found this cute little girl in the woods during a keg party. she was raised by coyotes. they adopted the girl and fed her nothing but sugar and beer. she is kept in a cage most of the time, being let out only for shows. i'm pretty sure that's how the story goes. or, at least, that's the only way it makes sense in my head.