Pony Express - Monkey Hearts
(Velvet Blue)
One of the very first reviews I ever wrote for fakejazz was by a band called Propeller, who had an EP called Strain of Positive Thinking. Now, in that review, I remarked about how much Propeller sounded like Drive Like Jehu (my god, did they ever). What you’re probably wondering is what this has to do with Pony Express. Well, I’ll fill you in: they’re Propeller to Drive Like Jehu’s Jesus and Mary Chain. Which is not to say they’re bad, they’re just incredibly similar in sound and style to JAMC. And I’m presented with the same sort of debacle that Propeller gave: I really enjoy JAMC, and, by that right, Pony Express, but I can’t support them fully. They’re too derivative!
Firstly, they’re singing about drugs, loneliness, and depression, much like the Jesus and Mary Chain. Secondly, there’s a heavy psychedelic influence, and they marry that with a noisy aesthetic. Hey, that sounds like the Jesus and Mary Chain! Wow! I’ll say to Pony Express what I said to Propeller: I hope you can carve out your own niche and one day have bands rip off your style. For now, you’re far too unoriginal.
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