What would you do if you knew you had a dark spirit attached to you, but getting rid of it would require more money than you had?
If you’re PONY front person Sam Bielanski, you learn to live with it and let it inspire an album of effervescent, shimmery indie pop songs. On this album, Clearly Cursed, the Toronto group find the happy space between The Cranberries and Charly Bliss, writing jangly, sugary sweet bops that can bring sunshine to your day, no matter how dark (nor how dark the lyrical content).
Songs like opener “Superglue” and “Middle of Summer” are pure brightness, with jangly guitars, lovelorn lyrics, and vibrant melodies. One can also hear the influence of 80’s goth-pop pioneers The Cure in the tones and synths subtly glazed over the songs. There’s the quirky key lines on “Freezer”, where Bielanski pines “I’ll just die right here locked inside the freezer” (a line that one could see Morrissey morosely singing), but it’s pulled off with Bielanski’s grand, cathartic coo to keep the feelings upbeat.
The closest to sadness you may hear on the album is on “Blame Me”, where Bielanski sings in a soothing slightly lower register “Blame me for every little thing I’ve done. Blame me for the person I’ve become”, letting listeners hear past the shimmering pop facade for a moment to feel the hurt beneath. Elsewhere, “Every Little Crumb” breaks out some heavier, grunge guitars to add some muscle to the mix, but these are tempered by the overlaying melody.
Even when things take an edgier turn on songs like “Hot and Mean”, there’s such a sweetness to the melody and innocence to the vocal delivery that the edges are smoothed over. It also helps that the band’s rhythm section keeps things bouncing along. “Middle of Sumer” has a bubbly bass line that makes you want to dance right away, and “Brilliant Blue” has a great rhythmic quality to it, with intriguing drum fills going into the chorus.
There isn’t a ton of sonic variety on Clearly Cursed, but if you like what you’re hearing one song in (which I did), then you can be sure you’ll enjoy everything to come. It’s unadulterated power pop bliss, and bound to give you aura sugar buzz.
PONY‘s new album is out everywhere tomorrow, February 13th on Take This To Heart Records. Listen to the pre-released songs here.
The Indy Review 