Album Reviews

Album Review: New Young Pony Club – The Optimist (PIAS)

By | Published on Friday 5 March 2010

New Young Pony Club

New Young Pony Club always had a certain something that made them a more exciting proposition than perhaps they should have been. Their second album is no radical deviation from 2007’s debut ‘Fantastic Playroom’, although its tone is occasionally darker, black and white if you like, whereas ‘FP’ was more a riot of bold primary colours.

The template is still a post punky disco one (with nods to Talking Heads and all the other usual suspects), full of scratchy guitars, jittery percussion, icy electronics and big choruses housing vocals delivered by Tahitah Bulmer seemingly with a sneer, a smile and a knowing wink (sometimes all at the same time).

The two singles ‘Lost A Girl’ and ‘Chaos’ remain simply effortlessly brilliant pop songs, whilst the title track, with its New Order-esque synths, motorik drumming and playful aloofness would’ve fitted right in on the Mancunians’ seminal ‘Power, Corruption And Lies’.

Whilst the bulk of the album can’t quite keep up the giddy momentum established by the rush of the opening three tracks, there are enough diverting moments (and occasional thrilling ones) to still make this worth of your attention. MS

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