Album Review
When I heard that Baltimore quartet Ponytail grew out of an assignment in a college art class, I expected them to sound heavily conceptual and musically primitive-- more interested in ideas than technique. It turned out they did have an abstract side, especially in the word-less vocals of Molly Siegel, but they were also seriously proficient musicians. Drummer Jeremy Hyman whipped up a tornado of rhythms-- he's now a go-to percussionist for the Boredoms-- and intercutting guitarists Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong were fast, complex, and precise. The brilliance of Ponytail was that all these chops served engaging music. You could dig the craft without focusing on it-- often at their shows I'd get so caught up in all the ecstatic momentum that the wizardry didn't hit me until afterwards.
Ponytail went on hiatus in August, and Wong is the first member to release a solo record. Though his guitar prowess is more obvious on Infinite Love, he continues to use it primarily for emotional impact. A 40-minute piece cut into 15 tracks (and then re-done on a 2nd CD-- more on that later), the album was made with electric guitar, effects pedals, and a few cameos by a drum machine. Many of its passages begin like compulsory exercises, the instrumental equivalent of connecting dots, tracing lines, or winding up a toy and watching it scuttle across the floor. But they become hypnotic melodies quickly. Pin-pricks congeal into chords, loops swing into low-end waves, and strums spawn glistening notes like a sparkler emitting embers.
Not every Ponytail fan will be thrilled with Infinite Love-- even at its most engaging, it feels like an experiment. Wong encourages this a bit in his presentation-- the two CDs here are "brother" and "sister" versions which open and end the same but vary in their middles, and both include a DVD of accompanying visuals. Clearly this is not an album of songs, and its appeal will be quicker for those inclined to solo guitar explorations, or for whom repetition and layering are a form of verse-chorus-verse. But for formal-sounding guitar art, Infinite Love is sneakily memorable. At various points I hear echoes of Ian Williams' playing in Don Caballero, Steve Reich's phasing repetitions, the softer clouds of Mark McGuire, and hints of metal and prog-rock. Most moving is a passage of lonely balladry that sounds like Wong covering Loren Connors.
As diverse as all those sounds are, it would be fun to hear Wong throw off the conceptual chains and follow this album with looser, more unpredictable sonics-- much the way his other group, Ecstatic Sunshine, often does. Given the history he's forged with them and Ponytail, Wong likely won't sit still for long, and even the most rigid parts of Infinite Love suggest he's got a lot more ideas to draw on.
— Marc Masters, October 28, 2010
- Avey Tare: Down There
- The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Orange / Acme
- Waka Flocka Flame: Flockaveli
- Liars: Live at Shepherds Bush Empire EP / Proud Evolution
- Bryan Ferry: Olympia
- Mount Eerie: Song Islands Vol. 2
- Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz
- Die Antwoord: $O$
- Small Black: New Chain
- Apparat: DJ-Kicks
- Cloud Nothings: Turning On / Leave You Forever
- John Lennon: Signature Box / Power to the People: The Hits
- Shugo Tokumaru: Port Entropy
- Dexys Midnight Runners: Searching for the Young Soul Rebels [30th Annivers
- Sun Airway: Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier
- Säkert!: Facit
- Ólöf Arnalds: Innundir Skinni
- Wyatt, Atzmon & Stephen: For the Ghosts Within
- Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
- The Foreign Exchange: Authenticity
- Weezer: Pinkerton [Deluxe Edition] / Death to False Metal
- Matt & Kim: Sidewalks
- Earth: A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra-Capsular Extractio
- Vado: Slime Flu
- Houses: All Night
- Elliott Smith: An Introduction To...
- Kylesa: Spiral Shadow
- Violens: Amoral
- Silje Nes: Opticks
- Ski Beatz: 24 Hour Karate School
- !!!: Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass EP
- Gucci Mane: The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted
- David Sylvian: Sleepwalkers
- The War on Drugs: Future Weather EP
- Mice Parade: What It Means to Be Left-Handed
- Destroyer: Archer on the Beach 12"
- Warpaint: The Fool
- Brian McBride: The Effective Disconnect
- Dylan LeBlanc: Paupers Field
- Various Artists: Bloody War: Songs 1924-1939 / The Battles Rage On
Recently
Album Reviews
- Weezer: Pinkerton [Deluxe Edition] / Death to False Metal
- Matt & Kim: Sidewalks
- Earth: A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra-Capsular Extractio
- Vado: Slime Flu
- Houses: All Night
Features
Album Reviews
- Elliott Smith: An Introduction To...
- Kylesa: Spiral Shadow
- Violens: Amoral
- Silje Nes: Opticks
- Ski Beatz: 24 Hour Karate School
The Playlist
News
- Gucci Mane Arrested Again
- Wolf Parade Release New Single
- Watch Broken Social Scene Play With Opera Singers
- Listen: Twin Shadow Remixes the Drums
- Tennis Announce Debut Album
- Low Do Christmas Shows, Work on New Album
- Cut Copy Reveal New Album
- The Decemberists Announce New Album
- Genesis P-Orridge Quits Throbbing Gristle
- New Smith Westerns: "Weekend"
Album Reviews
- !!!: Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass EP
- Gucci Mane: The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted
- David Sylvian: Sleepwalkers
- The War on Drugs: Future Weather EP
- Mice Parade: What It Means to Be Left-Handed
The Playlist
Features
News
- Remember to Vote
- TVOTR, Four Tet, Interpol Members on Beans Album
- NATO Causes Arcade Fire Show Cancellation
- Deerhoof Share Another New Song, Tour Dates
- Hear New LPs From Matt & Kim, Cee-Lo, Springsteen
- Video: Frightened Rabbit, Craig Finn Cover Elton
- Listen: Joker Remixes Gorillaz
- Ted Leo, MMJ, YYYs, !!!, MGMT Do Halloween
- New Memory Tapes: "Pretend the Devil Isn't Real"
- Women Cancel Tour After Clashing Onstage
Album Reviews
- Destroyer: Archer on the Beach 12"
- Warpaint: The Fool
- Brian McBride: The Effective Disconnect
- Dylan LeBlanc: Paupers Field
- Various Artists: Bloody War: Songs 1924-1939 / The Battles Rage On
Features
News
- The Feelies Plan First Album in Two Decades
- New Release: Cloud Nothings: Cloud Nothings
- Video: Deerhunter Cover Scott Walker
- Listen: Fang Island Team With Andrew W.K.
- Feist Documentary Due on DVD With Bonus CD
- Wretches & Jabberers I Get Physical I Heartland
- Jim O'Rourke vs. iCarly
- New Release: Laurel Halo: King Felix EP
- Aphex Twin Says He's Got Six Albums Completed
- Hear the Caribou Remix Album in Full
Album Reviews
- Waka Flocka Flame: Flockaveli
- Sun Airway: Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier
- Josephine Foster & the Victor Herrero Band: Anda Jaleo
- Shugo Tokumaru: Port Entropy
- Dustin Wong: Infinite Love
The Playlist
News
- Iron & Wine Ready New Single for Black Friday
- Listen: Matt & Kim: "Block After Block"
- Video Directors Hammer & Tongs Release DVD
- Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Morrissey Get Halloween Masks
- Basement Jaxx Reissue Early Material
- 5-10-15-20: Apparat
- Arcade Fire to Perform on "SNL" Again
- Pixies Give Away 2004 Coachella Recording
- New Release: Weekend: Sports
- Video: Robyn: "Indestructible"
Album Reviews
- Mount Eerie: Song Islands Vol. 2
- Bryan Ferry: Olympia
- The Foreign Exchange: Authenticity
- Apparat: DJ-Kicks
- Säkert!: Facit
The Playlist
Features
News
- Krist Novoselic, Butch Vig on New Foo Fighters LP
- Listen: Deerhoof Cover Kasai Allstars
- Echo Chamber: Stephin Merritt
- Mike Huckabee Hearts Torche?!
- Gorillaz Release iTunes Session
- Smith Westerns Ready Sophomore Album
- Stream New Albums From Weezer, Brian Eno
- Mogwai Announce New Album
- Listen: Five Songs From the Orange Juice Box Set
- Animal Collective Curate All Tomorrow's Parties