Fantastic Playroom
The Sunday Age
Sunday August 26, 2007
25
Fantastic PlayroomNew Young Pony Club, ModularWhen I was told that New Young Pony Club's lead singer Tahita Bulmer is charismatic, I imagined another Karen O or Beth Ditto. Instead, I spent 39 minutes trying to find a way into this record. "Laminate your mind, as though you need it," Bulmer intones, her voice the epitome of boredom-as-cool, but, in truth, it's this whole hyper-referenced back-to-the-'80s package that's sealed with an impenetrably glossy veneer. There is the odd air pocket, but the beguiling basslines of Jerk Me and Talking Talking or that wistful, synth-laden last minute of The Bomb aren't going to sustain you any more than Bulmer's haughty wordplay. Key track: To call it mystique would be an oversell, but there is something about The Get Go, like that girl on the dance floor with outer-space make-up and eyes like glass beads everyone stares at. They'll never meet her, though, which is why Bulmer stutters "n-n-n-neverbes".
© 2007 The Sunday Age