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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