Ponykiller’s fine debut album, The Wilderness, is one of those very worthy efforts that somehow evaded this reviewer's ears in 2011, so I’m making up for that omission now.
Led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Collin Yeo, Ponykiller offers up a slice of neo-psychedelia that rewards repeated listening. Like those musical Californians whose influences show up on The Wilderness – Tim Buckley, Love, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and even the late Rozz Williams of Christian Death – Ponykiller’s psych-rock is, even at its sunniest, never without an accompanying dark shadow. “I feel love – like Hell,” sings Yeo, appropriately enough, on the album's “Howlee.”
On The Wilderness, death shadows the singer’s every move. The recognition of human mortality undercuts any moments of happiness that do come his way.
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The album opener, “I-5,” serves as an aesthetic statement of intent: “I can hear you on psychedelic wings,” sings Yeo, as the band serves up some 1960s flavored, yet still contemporary-sounding, acid rock. The aforementioned “Howlee” is next, the neo-psych vibe growing darker, while “Busketeer” at times evokes the desperate feel of Christian Death circa Catastrophe Ballet.
“Another Toxic Year” sounds like something from Love’s dystopian psych-rock classic Forever Changes: “They’re burning cars in Oceanside again,” sings Yeo. “And if I could I’d resurrect the sun/And make this toxic year be gone.” A circular, churning guitar riff finally resolves here into an abstract, trippy coda.
“Wendigo” showcases the band’s unique way of putting songs together. A choppy, angular and insistent guitar riff pushes the singer forward into his imagined lysergic funeral procession. Here, Yeo conjures up nightmarish, apocalyptic visions straight out of the television show The Walking Dead: “And we will not all make it through the suicide to come/We’ll only bleed the frozen ground and overdose alone.”
Other highlights here include “Magnet River,” an evocative number that evokes the mid-period work of Tim Buckley. Yeo turns in a dynamic vocal performance as he again undercuts happiness with a recognition of the ephemeral nature of all human emotions. “All the pretty girls/They love you/Just when your eyes turn to the sky and roll away.” The song’s coda abruptly turns on a musical dime, much like the Doors’ “The Soft Parade,” into a doomy funk march, complete with ominous, buzzing guitars.
Article comments
1 - James
Seen these guy live with some local nashville bands. Ponykiller and Black tar prophet stole the show. They are both very unique bands and where a breath of fresh air with everyone sounding/typical the same in the acid rock and stoner genres these days. If they come to your town make sure to check them out. Loved the jazz influenced drums.