Search - New Young Pony Club :: Optimist

A Tour de Force from NYPC!

Leonard Schulwitz | Portland, Oregon | 07/12/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Up until the release of this album, I had only dabbled in New Young Pony Club. I considered most of their work boring, cheesy, and even unlistenable, with small pockets of fun and creativity. I now find myself eating my words, both surprised and proud to report that I am absolutely infatuated by the seductive sound of NYPC's "The Optimist".



Our journey begins with "Lost a Girl", full of energy, singable, and provoking, these first four minutes are a teasing appetizer that sends a clear message: "We're really good, we know it, stick around for the main course and we'll blow you away!"



This is followed by "Chaos", the album's only single, which just happens to be one of the weaker tracks. It's clearly intended for old NYPC fans, giving them one last taste of the sound to which they've grown accustomed.



All great bands mature, and track 3, the eponymously titled "The Optimist" is the band's testament that they are more than capable of reinventing and refining their sound. "The Optimist" is so good it's scary, starting out deep and slow, the song tantalizes as it builds and falls, climaxing with the piercing call of the Sirens themselves. Prediction: in 2008 I forecasted that MGMT would take off because of "Kids" and in 2009 I said the same of Phoenix's "1901", I was right on both counts. For 2010, I'm placing all my chips on New Young Pony Club's "The Optimist". This track and the solid album that surrounds it will make New Young Pony Club the most hyped band of 2011; you heard it here first.



The fourth track is "Stone", a mellow song that allows the listener to catch her breath after the orgasmic "The Optimist", preparing us for a second wind. It's a good thing too, because the follow up "We Want To" gives us a sumptuous taste of everything that was right with "The Bomb" while also borrowing (apparently) from the Wizard of Oz's "Winkie Chant". Moving forward, "Dolls", "Before the Light", "Oh Cherie" and "Rapture" are all solid tracks that almost seem forgettable, until it dawns on you that your subconscious is still humming and singing them days later.



The album closes with "Architect of Love", it's haunting, it's pulsing, and it effectively incorporates heavy cowbell and chainsaws like no song you've ever heard. Most importantly, "Architect of Love" provides the perfect transition as one returns to track 1; ergo, rinse and repeat, this album exemplifies recapitulation through repetition."