New Young Pony Club: Fantastic Playroom

DESPITE ALL the massed proclamations of New Young Pony Club's verve, charisma, and cool, on record they sound bored, listless, and uninterested. It's a studied ennui, the "I'm too cool for what I'm doing" stance that's been watered down and refracted a billion times since James Dean's face went through his windshield, and you can hear it in every syllable of Tahita Bulmer's indolent vocals, whether she's urging you to "dip your dipper" or babbling nonsense about "laminating your mind."