Ice Cream Spiritual

Lovingly described as “total spastic bliss” Baltimore-based four-piece Ponytail are rather special indeed. Kinda like Sonic Youth if they ever learned to smile, their fuzzed-up funky sound comes complete with yelps, squeals and giggles that you’d expect to hear from a four-year-old rather than a hotly tipped bunch of misfits, but somehow it all just works. This is their second effort, and while at first it mightn’t sound like it, it’s their most focused to date. There’s not a lot in the way of memorable, anthemic melodies but they do have more energy than a box full of Duracell bunnies and that more than makes up for any sonic short-falls.