Words by Laura Martin
Ah, New Rave. We remember the halcyon days, smearing ourselves in UV paint, running around in ridiculous fluorescent clothing around Shoreditch, trying to outdo each other with ketamine infused tales of ironicness.
But what of the bands? Well, the less said about East-London irritants Trash Fashion, the better. Klaxons, still even now struggling on that elusive second album, despite star turns from James Ford, Erol Alkan and Tony Visconti as passing producers. CSS – got bored of being sexy and it showed in their follow up number. And New Young Pony Club – yeah, they’re probably still singing about Ice Cream, in a hilarious land of rainbow colours and brands paying them big dollar to soundtrack adverts, right?
Er, wrong. Despite the London-based four-piece’s album title, The Optimist, sounding like it’s ready to pick up from where the Pony left off in 2007 with Fantastic Playroom, the new sound reveals the much darker side to the band. Gone are the cutesy, wink-wink knowing rhymes and instead is an altogether deeper, angstier sound, like the comedown after the rave, complete with guilt and constant self doubt.
Opening track “Lost A Girl” still contains the unmistakably heavy electro bass of NYPC and the dulcet tones of lead singer Tahita, but by taking her register deeper, gives an extra sadness and wistfulness to the song. She scolds herself for getting sucked back into something she shouldn’t: “I’m kissing your hand/I’m making you smile/Why am I doing that?” But snapping her back to reality – ”Hey! Looks like you lost a girl” – is the skipped beat and insistent, uptempo beat with the attitude we remember from the band previously.
Title track “The Optimist” opens with a Joy Division-esque bass layered with synths and suggests the song is going to be anything from the positive title it’s named. The lead vocals echo in and out, like a cautionary tale or an anxiety dream. “Before The Light” has a similar ethereal quality, hazy soprano vocals making it one of the stand out tracks from the album. Dealing with themes of “a lost one” – like “Lost A Girl” – again highlight the feeling of absence or the end of a relationship – something lead singer Tahita has commented that personally influenced her for this album.
Chaos – the current single with excellent remixes by Rory Phillips and Manic Street Preachers – is a step back to old school NYPC , with Tahita, Lou and Sarah’s harmonies creating the catchy line “you got the moment, tell me what’s the answer?”. “We Want To” and “Dolls” are the upbeat numbers that lift the album from getting too dark and bring edgy, dancefloor-bound sounds back to the listener.
Lo-fi lament “Architect Of Love” questions if there can be hope for love when it’s “broken from the start” – listen carefully for the drills on the fade out, a witty touch to finish the album - did a next door neighbour’s annoying home improvements spark some inner soulsearching for a Pony member?
More poetic and heartfelt than Fantastic Playroom, The Optimist is the album that deals with the inevitable lows that follow the highs. It’s wiser, more reflective than it’s annoying younger brother New Rave, dealing with the emotions that weren’t relevent at the time, but now surely will lead the way in showing where great electro-pop can go when it grows up.
