Pony Express
Huntington Beach, California8 reviews across 4 releases
Pony Express is a Southern California project led by Jeff Cloud, emerging in the mid-1990s from the same circle as Starflyer 59 and Joy Electric. Early material leaned on noisy, distorted guitar, while The Eastwood Dive settled into slow guitars, sparse rhythm, and breathy vocals that invited comparison with Starflyer 59. The six-song Monkey Hearts changed the balance: its fourteen minutes moved through lo-fi rock, electronic loops, surf guitar, and melodic 1980s pop, with Cloud's subdued voice at the center. By Becoming What You Hate, the songs had grown more varied without abandoning the hushed California sound. Piano, organs, layered vocals, and abrupt noise gave tracks such as "Queen of Beirut," "GPA," and "Sister Says" a wider range than the earlier recordings.
In 2000, Pony Express was still an infrequent live project, with Cloud saying it had played only four or five shows. The original working group paired him with Jason Martin on drums and Darryl Mitchell on bass; Josh Dooley later added keyboards, while Frank Lenz and Richard Swift joined the expanded lineup heard on Becoming What You Hate. Cloud had first planned that record as an EP, but eleven songs turned it into a full-length release in 2002. The album marked the point at which reviewers heard Pony Express moving beyond its Starflyer resemblance, even as Martin continued to sing several of its most melodic songs. Velvet Blue Music reissued the album in 2021, and Pony Express appeared at live dates in 2022 and 2023.
4 releases reviewed
Under the Gun
The Eastwood Dive
Monkey Hearts
Becoming What You Hate