These ten miniature tantrums — a few of which even stray past the three-minute mark when the Baltimore spazzes throwing 'em are feeling epic — ricochet with such clamorous abandon you can easily miss just how surprisingly shy of dissonance their tiny, tinny din tends to blare. Maybe it's the bass-less rhythm section, though drummer Jeremy Hyman keeps everyone anchored in the same tempo even when the quartet threaten to rev themselves right off the rails.

More likely the reason they sound so atonal is the same reason sourpusses might dis them as dilettantes — lead squealer Molly Siegel, who yammers in tongues with a reckless joy that'll either tickle the underside of your soul or elicit the very first "will you kids keep it down!?!" ever to escape your lips. But really, guitarists Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong are specialists in the melodic four-note riff, flexing a catchiness too unfussy to be called lyrical, compensating for their simplicity by either cramming multiple such figures together, or by just shifting up a key or nudging the tune a tad sideways.

Ponytail have been compared relentlessly to Deerfhoof, who, underneath their cutesy sheen, are math-rockers at heart. But the hyper hammer-ons of "Start… read more »