review

It must be tough being the opening band on a list of four. New Young Pony Club were forced to suffer such a fate when the NME Rave Tour rolled into Cardiff. Going onstage as early as 7.30 is always going to mean competing with a crowd still arriving, who are still in the process of finishing their pints, and are still jostling for position for the later bands, the bigger bands – CSS, The Sunshine Underground and the Klaxons.

However, if the majority of the crowd weren’t there for the New Young Pony Club, then someone obviously forgot to tell the band themselves. Lead singer Tahita Bulmer dominated the stage in a purple outfit that just, and I mean just, covered her waist. Wearing sunglasses and taking photos of the crowd, she was every part the extrovert lead singer, almost demanding a response from a crowd who would have preferred to save their energy.

Opening song ’Get Lucky’ with the fusing of a funky beat and guitar part offset by a synth breakdown that The Killers only wish they could do, gave the crowd no option but to take notice - especially given the power of the drumming by Sarah Jones. Despite the drums reverberating with a ferocious intensity, she exuded an effortless cool while still being the driving force of the band. Her laconic sexiness was matched by the third female member, keyboardist Lou Hayter, who also added backing vocals. Together they provided a musical, and visual, spectacle that must have caused excited confusion in the under 18 contingent present in the crowd.

Guitarist Andy Spence provided tight guitar work that never got over-indulgent but remained the focus for some of the more complex melodies. His guitar and Lou’s keyboard work gave the second track, Hiding on the Staircase, a reminder of an early Primal Scream sound, whilst still managing to be only a similar sound, not a copy.

Newly released single ’The Bomb’ was played with aplomb, with a sense that they were starting to enjoy themselves and that the crowd weren’t far behind. Following this up with breakthrough hit ’Ice Cream’ really helped generate that enjoyment, and by the end the glow sticks were out and sections of the crowd were jumping around. With its highly charged sexual lyrics, ’Ice Cream’ provided ample opportunity for Tahita to really go wild. With bassist Igor Folk (born to play bass with a name like that) providing the straight man routine by standing almost motionless beside her, she looked positively possessed, as if it was her personal mission to ensure the crowd had a good night.

By the time the audience were clapping in unison and chanting back into Tahita’s outstretched microphone during the final song, ’Get Go’, it was easy to forget there were three more acts to come and that we’d only heard five songs. Genuine disappointment radiated from the crowd when the band thanked them for being so great. Give them a full length set and who knows how the audience would have been by the end. Whatever the rest of the night would provide, it was doubtful many people would forget the short, but oh-so-sweet, performance of New Young Pony Club. And it wasn’t even half past eight.

www.myspace.com/newyoungponyclub