Lower Pony – Bluette
If you’re at all familiar with Buffalo’s music scene, you already know the guys in Lower Pony. Ray Fulton, Dave Calos, and Ryan Besch have been in and out of Harvest Sum bands for years, and they recently tapped Passed Out frontman Andy Pothier (another recent Harvest Sum inductee) on drums. So their first proper 7-inch, Bluette, isn’t really a debut, it’s more of a “hello again.” After a years-long stream of demos, these four tracks finally put the band’s sound on wax: lo-fi, 90s-indebted slacker rock. It’s a refreshingly traditional guitar/guitar/bass/drums formula that leans on good, honest songs, not studio tricks, pulling hard from influences like Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh.
The EP starts fast with the single, “Bluette,” a 59-second sprint that’s all tangled guitars and resigned lyrics (“if you feel this way / there’s not much I can say”). It’s as jagged as it is engaging and its length just adds to the charm. “Just Anyone” keeps the energy up, pairing upbeat hooks and imaginative arrangements with a fitting lyrical weariness. Both of these first two tracks feature Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis on backing vocals, adding a layer of sweet to the guitar-forward snarl.
Flipping the 7-inch over, things get quieter. The “float slow version” of “Cloud Pleaser” strips a previously fleshed-out demo down to its acoustic bones, letting the vocal harmonies and a glockenspiel do some heavy lifting. The record closes out with “Down and Down About It,” a heartfelt acoustic sketch that is at once pretty and pin-prick sharp, proving the band’s songwriting holds up without the polish.
Bluette is now available on Lower Pony’s Bandcamp page and streaming everywhere.
Categorised in: Buffalo
This post was written by Ronald Walczyk