It’s one thing to have a string of bad luck, but to be cursed…that probably feels like forces beyond our control are swaying things towards the negative. As Sam Bielanski (founding member/singer-songwriter) explains, Clearly Cursed is directly inspired by their first visit to a psychic at the age of 21. “She read my tarot cards and told me boyfriend was cheating on me,” Bielsanki says. “That was true. She also told me that I had a dark spirit attachment which she could easily vanquish if I paid her $1500. That was obviously out of my budget, so I left and decided I would have to coexist with this dark spirit for the rest of my life.” PONY take it all in stride on their third full-length record, an album that wears their core influences of power pop, indie rock and post-punk on their collective sleeves. Joined by Bielanski is guitarist Matty Morand, who leans into a more polished sound on this latest effort that highlights the duo’s complimentary playing style. PONY may be Clearly Cursed, but this album shows that this band is bound for big things from this point on.

On the band’s sophomore album, PONY deliver some great-sounding power pop on Velveteen. Named after the book The Velveteen Rabbit, that lead singer Sam Bielanski used the audiobook from to cope with a nine-month struggle with insomnia, Bielanski shared, “I became obsessed with it, but I always fell asleep before getting to the end. The way I interpreted the story was that it’s the love that we give and receive that makes us real or whole.” Through this unique connection to a childhood favorite, Bielanski and multi-instrumentlist/collaborator Matty Morand were able to pen approximately 200 songs that they narrowed down to ten crisp songs found on this record. If you’re into bands like Beach Bunny, Soccer Mommy, and Diet Cig, you’ll definitely find plenty to enjoy on PONY’s Velveteen.