Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Cream Calendar / Music
Dangerous Ponies, Tonight at Little Hamilton
Posted
by D. Patrick Rodgers
on Wed, May 25, 2011 at 10:42 AM
From Philadelphia — the land that gives you Dr. Dog and
The Extraordinaires — comes yet another indie-pop band that likes ornate instrumentation, catchy hooks and challenging, interesting arrangements. It's Dangerous Ponies, and while contributor Sean L. Maloney went with a Country Joe and the Fish/Rentals/Feelies parallel in
his Critic's Pick (see below), I probably would have noted that these guys coulda/woulda/shoulda been in the Elephant 6 fam back in the late ’90s. Hear "On a Liner Part I" from their self-titled LP below, and listen to the whole thing at
their Bandcamp page.
OK, so we faithfully click on whatever links the crew from local art-bunker Little Hamilton sends our way. It's one of Nashville's most reliable sources for the coolest in experimental, extreme and avant-garde music, and they're our main hookup for some seriously difficult (and worthwhile) listening. So you can believe our shock when we pulled up the Dangerous Ponies to discover that they were a pop band — and not just a pop band but an all-caps AWESOME POP BAND. With punk energy, art-school ingenuity and gorgeous hooks galore, this Philly outfit makes the sort of indie pop that we thought was extinct — you know, fun but still challenging, sweet but still rocking. Sort like if Country Joe and the Fish joined The Rentals to start a Feelies cover band and travel the globe. OK, really nothing like that. But trust us, they're awesome. —SEAN L. MALONEY
Tags: Dangerous Ponies, Little Hamilton, Critics' Picks
