Snowpony is a London supergroup that comprises
Katharine Gifford, former keyboardist in Stereolab,
Deborah Googe, former bassist in My Bloody Valentine
and
Max Corradi, former drummer in Rollerskate Skinny.
While much more experimental than most bands, even Snowpony debuted with the
ritual sequence of singles:
Easy Way Down (See No Evil, 1997),
Little Girls Understand (Rough Trade, 1997) and
Chocolate (Evil).
Slow Motion World (Radioactive, 1998) is an interesting concept,
albeit still a raw and uncertain one. Gifford's contralto drives scores
(3 Can Keep a Secret, Titanic, Snow White)
that resemble abstract electronic pieces or tape collages
rather than rock songs, although the only artificial element is the
guitar samples (that effectively replace the guitar as the main instrument
of the band).
Corradi was then replaced by
Kevin Bass, former drummer in Moonshake.
Snowpony proves to be an amazing waste of talent on
Sea Shanties For Spaceships (Dead Pan Alley, 2001), an album split
between unremarkable imitations of fashionable genres
(Crumpled 10), confused hodgepodges of alternative jargons
(Naked Twister) and futile dance ditties (Brown Hotel).
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da David Bonnano)
Snowpony è
un supergruppo che
comprende Katharine Gifford, tastierista degli Stereolab, Deborah Googe,
bassista dei My Bloody
Valentine and Max Corradi, batterista dei Rollerskate
Skinny. Pur essendo molto più
sperimentali della maggior parte delle bands, anche gli Snowpony debuttano con
l’usuale sequenza di singoli: Easy Way Down (See No Evil, 1997), Little
Girls Understand (Rough Trade, 1997) e Chocolate (Evil). Slow
Motion World (Radioactive, 1998) è un concept interessante, benché ancora
grezzo ed incerto. Il contralto di Gifford guida partiture (3 Can Keep a
Secret, Titanic, Snow White) che somigliano a pezzi di elettronica astratta o collages di
nastri piuttosto che canzoni rock, nonostante l’unico elemento artificiale
siano i campioni di chitarra (che in effetti rimpiazzano la chitarra come strumento
principale della band). Corradi verrà poi rimpiazzato da Kevin Bass, batterista
dei Moonshake.
Gli Snowpony dimostrano di essere un
incredibile spreco di talento con Sea
Shanties For Spaceships (Dead Pan Alley, 2001),un album diviso fra banali
imitazioni di generi alla moda(Crumpled 10), confusi guazzabugli dei
gerghi alternative (Naked Twister)e inutili motivetti dance (Brown
Hotel).
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