Two Trick Pony

The Horses Are Coming

Written by: HES on 26/02/2014 18:00:59

... but what horses are they? And will I be joining the choir of praising Danish music critics at the end of this article? These are the questions confronting me at a first glance at Danish indie rockers Two Trick Pony's new full-length album. The female-fronted noise pop constellation has recently gained a lot of interest and was once in a blue moon also chosen for the honourable underground version of a tap on the shoulder as the "EP of the month" in Danish music magazine Gaffa.

Using their unique selling point of being 75% girls in the band, the soundscape oozes of sexual tension. Rather than a garage, I imagine the band playing in dark alleyways in a major British city. The sound is clearly garage-inspired. But the amorous whispers and poppy melodies makes the album a bit more commercially viable than the band's peers in the recent revival of the genre like The Libertines, The Hives etc. The band is more easily placed in the spectre of pop crossing into indie rock, but Two Trick Pony is a well-served dish of this particular art form, placing themselves solidly in between other poppier, but rock solid indie bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Raveonettes. The attitude of punk is preserved through 60's references in noisy guitar motifs and rolling drums. A taunting solo bass line interlude on "The Arsonist" in so few bars says "fuck you" in a charming way. "Head Over Heels" almost crosses into the post-punk area. All in all I think it's fair to say, that the band has that special "old-new" sound - call it noise pop or indie rock depending on which you prefer.

But there is still a puzzle missing in my book; variation in tempi. Within the 9 tracks of the album, the band never really ever moves into the danceable bracket or at least a bit upbeat. This leaves the record a bit lacklustre in the long run. We are kept on the couch in a smoky bar, never really fully rioting in the streets. In spite of this, I am quite impressed with where the band already is on their first full-length release. Variation will surely come with time, when the band becomes more secure in their song writing and maybe a bit more adventurous? I am however jumping on the band wagon - Two Trick Pony is a band to watch.

Download: The Arsonist, Head Over Heels, The Horses Are Coming, Crossing Swords
For The Fans Of: Speaker Bite Me, Violent Femmes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Raveonettes
Listen: Facebook

Release Date 01.02.2014
Self-released

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