Labels: Sabot
Review by: Andy Malcolm
This is the second release from the Ponch, following up their slightly disappointing
LP on No Idea from last year. The album was touted as being in the vein of bands like
Max Colby and Sleepytime Trio, but I didn’t hear that at all personally. This 3
tracker does a better job of latching onto that edgey mid 90’s sound, engaging strong
and crunchy guitars with melodies and wrought vocals that have quite an original
sound. Another good comparison is to the sound that the South had on their LP,
particular in the pounding bass and drums. I should also mention that Jack Bailey from the Blacktop Cadence plays for AoP. Anyways, the band really lets fly with their assault but things never get
that messy, with the tight rhyhtm section and a more melodic side which is always
lurking in the background to keep things together. They also prove adept at busting
out the emo groove, especially on “Joe Versus the Tornado”.
The Ponch have supplied a good dash of noisy emo here, done with a modern take on things. It’s not perfect, but this is a band that is getting better and I think when they put another lp it out, it’ll definitely be worth checking.