The music world really is a small place, as proven by the blip of The Snow Ponies on my sonic radar. Main pony wrangler, Phil Dean, is someone I have met a number of times in the dim and distant past, finding gig slots for him or his band in my local venues, even though he was, and indeed still is, based half a world away. In recent years, he has moved to a new country, played a guard in Rings of Power, been beaten up by Jason Momoa in Aquaman 2, written a book, and slowly got back into making music. (I have merely moved 3 streets away and am doing pretty much what I always did… still, it isn’t a competition…thankfully.)
If, when I last saw him, his musical world had a folky edge, now, unsurprisingly, given how eclectic and changeable his life seems to be, he is in a very different place. “Oh My God” sounds like what the late eighties UK should have delivered if Britpop had not bollocksed everything up and settled for cheap thrills and music-by-numbers. It is an echo of that promise of formative, punkish indie reaching its full potential, which we glimpsed briefly in the folds of Jarvis Cocker’s corduroy jacket and Suede’s penchant for Bowie-esque, nu-glam sound and vision.
But with its blend of disco-tech and indie swagger, potent post-punkery, and more hooks than a Peter Pan convention, it is also brilliantly contemporary… not just contemporary but cutting-edge… move over Wolf Alice! and take Wet Leg with you!
Born out of an unexpected turn in personal events, the song is poignant if you know the story, but even if you don’t, it is a cool, clever and contagious slice of timeless and timely indie. Either way, it’s a cracker of a song! With an album on the way and live shows planned, you need to get on the Snow Pony Express immediately.
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