Pony Soldier - Waving With Windshield Wipers

Pony Soldier is a one-man bedroom-pop slowcore project from Brooksville, Florida. His debut, Waving With Windshield Wipers, was released on August 20th, 2021. The album held many great ideas, though executed them with varying results.

Generally speaking, the production is quite poor, though it adds an interesting dynamic to the music. Case in point is Eight Stories; it sounds like an artist’s first venture into synthetics, though it also sounds well-developed and thought-out. It’s end section is bliss. Another song with a blissful end section is Vashe Imya, despite its trumpet severely lacking. Tracks such as In the Computer Room at Night and Fun Club have a solid atmosphere, though they are compositionally and innovatively lacking. No song nails the mood as swimmingly as Conceptually Confused, though; Two Almond-Shaped Clusters comes close, but the song is disappointingly short. Community College Art Show is the first track in the album to experiment more with progression. Easily one of the strongest tracks on the album, though once again its vocals are lacking, and the mix is disappointingly muddy. The vocals are also poor on pickelhaube, yet the subtle synthetics and gentle crescendo make it a winning opener. Andy Or Jenny blends post-hardcore with indie rock into an emotional, yet basic track. The gentle synth and hip-hop percussive elements that accompany most of the tracks here are delightful and add much needed flavor to the lo-fi rock elements. Ultimately, as previously mentioned, it’s the vocal delivery, which is plain and without emotion throughout, that drags the experience down.

Waving With Windshield Wipers is a solid album, though even its flaws are inconsistent. Some songs are mixed better than others, some are composed stronger, and only a handful of tracks are innovative. There are moments of brilliance that keep the album afloat, though; these tracks are worth seeking out. Here’s hoping Pony Soldier can replicate the magic of the standout tracks more consistently in future releases.

Good

Listen to it here:

https://ponysoldier.bandcamp.com/album/waving-with-windshield-wipers

Pony Soldier - Waving With Windshield Wipers