Ponytail make music to lose yourself to. It really needs no further analysis. Play, listen, and abandon reality for five minutes.

Okay, a little greater depth. The four-piece hail from Baltimore – the city you know so well from The Wire (but it’s not all smack and surveillance, just so you know) – and have a pair of full-length releases to their name – 2006’s under-heard ‘Kamehameha’ and its follow-up, last year’s superbly energetic ‘Ice Cream Spiritual’. Their second album earned its share of respectable accolades, picking up rave reviews from tastemaker blogs and glossy monthlies alike.

The band – Molly Siegel, Ken Seeno, Dustin Wong and Jeremy Hyman – are to tour the UK and Europe again this month, kicking off their latest jaunt with a show at London’s famous 100 Club. Check the dates at the end of this Culture Clash Extra exchange with Ken Seeno.

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Ponytail – ‘Beg Waves’

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Movie

Heat. Sick action movie set in LA in the 90s starring gods Al Pacino and Robert De Niro at their best. My heart was in my throat!

Book

‘Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life’ by Allan Kaprow.

Album

‘The Chemistry of Common Life’ by Fucked Up. Just got SO into this record. I can’t explain it. I really want to play a show with them, now!

Track

‘Bluish’ by Animal Collective.

Television show or series

Lost – season five, ya’ll.

Exhibition

A Richard Prince retrospective. Saw this exhibition with my girlfriend and was blown away at how Prince managed to pull off SpongeBob SquarePants checks in a painting.

Holiday destination

Hawaii.

Gig venue

Upset the Rhythm show, Barden’s Boudoir, London, UK – September 4, 2008. This was our first show outside of the States and we didn’t even know if anybody even knew who we were in the UK. We didn’t expect much. The show was the night of the day we landed. We were beat. We were gross. And when tonnes of people showed up and were cheering us on and seemed so excited we were filled with so much love, excitement, and adrenaline, we ripped through our set! So much fun! And it couldn’t have been hosted by any more sweeter people, too. What a great night 🙂

Live band or DJ

The Specials. I’ve been pretty obsessed with watching YouTube videos of these guys in action. Such a great band!

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See Ponytail in the UK as follows (and check MySpace for European dates)…

February

12 London 100 Club (get tickets HERE)

March

7 Brighton Audio

8 Bristol Start The Bus

9 Cardiff Tommy’s Bar

‘Ice Cream Spiritual’ is available now via We Are Free.

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