Delusions of Adequacy

Ponytail "Kamehameha"



Ponytail and Creative Capitalism get two thumbs up for the best packaging I've seen in a long time on Kamehameha. The disc comes in a plastic bag, inside of which is a thick and rectangular piece of paper that has a die-cut fold across the backside with one end that inserts into the other. Underneath this neat fold is a CD on an actual spindle. It's a very nice way to make the record interesting and not scratch the disc up in the process. There are far too many indie labels that think they can just slap a disc in a cardboard slip and send it out. Often in this process the disc slips around on the commonly rough surface and unsurprisingly gets scratched before you even open it. For all those anal retentive collectors like me it is fucking murder. I always brace myself for when I open one of these and I paid full price for a scratched up and possibly defective CD.
On to the music......

Ponytail's sound is an interesting mix of so many other female fronted avant-rock groups. Deerhoof, Melt-Banana, and AIDS Wolf all come to mind but it's what the group does with these elements that make them distinct and more interesting than your average rip-off. Despite the banshee wailing and spastic drumming, the guitars sound more like Nintendo-prog group and Hella side-project The Advantage than anything else. These lightning changes are accented by clattering no-wave style drumming that can turn on a dime into unhinged blast-beats. Kamehameha also has these idiosyncratic movements during which the guitars will hit on a reverb-a-riffic melody line that transcends nearly everything else that the band has going on at the time.

Despite the easily spotted influence of other groups, Ponytail has produced a fine debut record. It's going to be interesting to see where they go from here if they stay together. Overall Kamehameha is an exciting and dare I say "fun" record full of effervescing energy and exuberance.


-Joe Davenport
12/14/06