This, the second album from the The Pony Collaboration, is a masterclass in understated beauty. I have to confess of not knowing of the band before this record arrived with me, and it has taken a couple of months of listening for it to really settle, to feel a welcome part of the musical family. Now its familiarity and charm are all too clear.
James Scallan's subdued, almost lazy, vocal style takes getting used to but when it hits, the yearning reality of the melodies are plain for all to hear. Tindersticks is an obvious, but relevant, comparison and with Tindersticks sticking in my mind as one of the UK's most underrated but worthwhile acts it also seems to me that The Pony Collaboration deserve to end up in the same boat. There is nothing here that jumps out at you and demands to be painted across the front pages or thrown to the lions of some hipster's self-effacing radio chart but what there is instead is a beautiful patchwork or ideas, textures and well considered songcraft. There are echoes of bone-bare honesty and brittle insecurity that swell and contract amongst the lyrical content and entwine themselves with the charming boy-girl vocals.
There is no doubt this band can play too. The instrumentation on Http 404 is tight enough to work convincingly as an instrumental and a pulsating bassline carries the piece admirably. Elsewhere, The Funny Side is another standout track with hooks and energy in abundance. Album closer, Home, might be the pick of the lot, building to a crescendo that is as close to pure, unbridled pop pleasure as you'll find on any record in the last year. Listen to its entirety as it saves the record's greatest melody for its second half. The end refrain is the musical equivalent of eating a bag of Haribo and finding all of your favourites have been buried at the bottom. You'll be pleased when you get there.
|
Widescreen fame might not beckon for The Pony Collaboration in the immediate future but this is a band to cherish all the same. One who might always play smaller venues but has the potential and sense of preservation to work their way to a point where they can they can proudly fill those small venues in places far and wide.
"If These Are The Good Times" is a slowburning gem in the very best sense of the word. Give it both a real chance and some quality time and you will find yourself mightily rewarded.
|
