Although they had an enjoyable debut back in 2007, New Young Pony Club seemed like just another band 'du jour'. Three years later, they've released a surprisingly smart follow-up that plunders the gloomier end of the '80s.
It's been three years since New Young Pony Club's debut 'Fantastic Playroom' was released, and the musical landscape has changed – perhaps not drastically, but certainly noticeably - since then. In 2007, the London band were lumped into the NME nu-new-wave/art-rock scene along with the likes of The Long Blondes and CSS, although their sound shared minimal DNA with that scene. Still, it was easy to pigeonhole Tahita Bulmer and co.; although 'Fantastic Playroom' was a perky anthology of dance, pop, and dance-pop tunes, it had the all the hallmarks of irrelevancy.
Fast-forward to 2010, and it sounds like the foursome have been spending a lot of time with their ears wrapped around the '80s. Instead of plundering the obvious well of glitzy disco and cheesy New Romantics, however, 'The Optimist' settles on the gloomy end of that decade's musical spectrum. Bass plays an important role on this album; 'Lost a Girl' and 'Oh Cherie' both use a heavy, Cure-like hum to propel their melodies forward, while the excellent 'Before the Light' and 'We Want To' share echoes of Joy Division, albeit an 'Ian Curtis goes pop' in the latter's case. Even Bulmer's voice has also taken on a rather Siouxsie-esque quality in places.
All that said, NYPC haven't completely forsaken their synthpop sound. The difference between 'Fantastic Playroom' and 'The Optimist' is that they use it with subtlety and intelligence; an elongated reverberation on the title track, a smart hybrid of spacey ambience and groovy dance on 'Stone'. An unexpected delight from a band with a suddenly interesting future.
