Ponytail

Formed in Baltimore, Maryland, the four-piece Ponytail blended multiple rock approaches in ways that prompted comparisons to Deerhoof and Ecstatic Sunshine. The group delivered its debut recording, the sugar-charged two-guitar traditional punk set Kamehameha, through Creative Capitalism in January 2007. Drummer Jeremy Hyman, guitarist Ken Seeno, and guitarist Dustin Wong—who also performed with Ecstatic Sunshine—made up the instrumental core, while vocalist Molly Siegel supplied an expansive range of vocal textures. Reviewers singled out the quartet’s hyperactive stage presence, which mixed intense riffing, shouts, growls, art-rock moves, surf-rock lines, ska rhythms, and Indian war-chant motifs. In the first months of 2008 the young musicians performed at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Their follow-up full-length, Ice Cream Spiritual, arrived on We Are Free Records in June 2008. After entering a hiatus in 2010, Wong issued a solo album on Thrill Jockey, Hyman joined the Boredoms on drums, and Seeno concentrated on independent projects. The members reassembled soon afterward, releasing their third album, Do Whatever You Want All the Time, in early 2011.