Heidi Gluck - Pony Show

Heidi Gluck
Pony Show
2016
Spotify

There are little moments where a song can grab you and not let go. Hearing something in a store, in a TV show, or out and about sucks you in and never lets you go. That happened to me while watching the new Amazon show "One Mississippi" staring Tig Notaro. The hauntingly beautiful and incredibly poignant song "Jumping Vows" came on and I was hooked. A search revealed it was the work of Heidi Gluck on her self produced sophomore album Pony Show. Gluck played all the instruments, wrote all the songs and produced every second of the album which gives it this very singular vision. There is obviously a heavy lean towards Joni Mitchell or Carole King as any female singer songwriter eventually has to bear that compassion, but Her sweet vocals offer something else quite fresh feeling. What is so great about this album though is that amongst all this really beautiful and delicate music the themes of Gluck's songs are wildly macabre in theme. "Sadness Is Psychedelic" and "Better Homes & Gardens" both deal with trying to come to terms with emotions that are often confusing and lonely. The blues play a huge role in her sound, giving it just enough of that spirit but never full taking over.

What is really special about Pony Show is how nimble it is. The song "Pin Stripped Vest" is lyrically quite dark, but there is an instrumental breakdown that elevates it to an entirely new level. "I Like 'Em Cruel" is an anthem for anyone who always seems to choose the wrong person despite the best intentions. "Wolf" is another track filled with self reflection and a pinning feeling to stay together despite how bad things may look from the outside. The strings towards the end of the song give it so much more depth and resonance. I want to go back to "Jumping Vows" because it truly is an extremely special song. One of the first thing she sings is "Is it too late?/To die young" and it hits you right in the existential crisis. The song is about what we are, what we think we are and getting older while trying to process all these things. It's the human condition in a song, Gluck's soul bared raw in front of us. To hear this kind of honesty wrapped in what is a very very beautiful song is simply perfect, and I don't use that word lightly. Pony Show is one of those records you want to keep secret, let it be your own personal thing, but we can't do that not with something this special, so here I am shouting to the world: LISTEN TO THIS RECORD NOW.

8.7 out of 10