One day I will get to like jazz. Not today or the next day. Or the following day for that matter but someday. Until that day comes however, I will continue my search for the kind of music that isn’t quite the work of the sane with today’s candidate for inspection being Belgium’s Josy & The Pony vs. The Poneymen or, more accurately, their album “Hippodrone Club”.
I like a bit of volume in the morning – or the evening, for that matter - and I also like a positive demonstration of the sociological befits of trans European collaboration and that’s what you get here with songs swirling out of insanity dragging all the deranged guitar pop that has gone before them along as luggage. Witness the manic conviction that drives “Ânesse Topless” ever forward or the psychotic charm that powers “H!!! Hue H!!! Han” as evidence of the hypnotic qualities of this crazy collaboration.
With voice of Josette Ponette veering seductively between Gallic laconic and punky fury, it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore the simple fact that she can cast a spell that turns all those reverb afflicted guitars and canned ultraviolence into a confection that will enslave even sugar coated ears. As an example, the Gainsbourg influenced “Let’s Beer” exceeds the insolent decadence that we might expect of even the master himself. And, yes, we don’t need an excuse to drink another beer.
Overdosing on offbeat charm, Josy & The Pony vs. The Poneymen have made “Hippodrone Club” the place to be.