ALBUM: New Young Pony Club – Fantastic Playroom

Every social generation has a musical style that it latches itself to. The 70s had disco and punk, the 80s had pop and metal, and the 90s had grunge and what future generations will no doubt refer to as ‘teeny-plop’.

As for this generation, the style that seems to have caught the current generation of young vibrant wannabes appears to be ‘Nu-Rave’, where new-wave and electronic noise is merged together to create a three minute record. One of the more recent, and probably one of the bands pushing the genre to the masses, are the New Young Pony Club, whose debut album Fantastic Playroom landed on the doormat this week.

The five piece from London have been bubbling under for the last couple of years with a few of their tracks being heard on American TV shows and TV adverts in the UK. With plenty of expectation, a strong first album should be on the cards. However, on first listen, there is only one thought: “Just what is the appeal of this band?” The album seems to be nothing more than a combination of electric drumbeat, keyboard and a singer telling us what she can give us (apparently, some ice cream…). It’s a bit of a disappointment.

However, fast forward two days and the CD gets another play. This time, the album makes more sense. There’s a new appeal to the sound, a sort of early Roxy Music vibe but with a sultry Goldfrapp-esque voice. Tracks that were previously disregarded now sound fresh. After thinking about it for a while, you’re finally able to pinpoint what the problem with the album was.

Being a debut, you look for a grand launch, an album that shows off a band’s work and says“Look at me!” However, this album is more subtle than that. It seems that, rather than pushing for major commercial success, New Young Pony Club have released the debut album that fans want to hear. An album that, although on first listen you may find not to your taste, the second and third listens will reveal influences like Blondie, Talking Heads and the seventies afro beat movement.

This is a well crafted debut which shows in fine light a band with potential; it’s just a pity that it takes a few listens to acknowledge this.

Buy it from here.