For some reason there's a number of bands that think they're a radio show going around at the moment.
For Italian dirty-house outfit Jolly Music, creating an album that masqueraded as a radio show was unavoidable, since they were literally a radio show before they realised they were creating music, rather than simply playing it, and became a band.
Chicago's Greens Keepers excuse themselves for adopting George Clinton's radio presentation-style by saying that without it they wouldn't have been able to link their otherwise incongruous music into a coherent package.
International Pony's references to P-Funk, judging from the opening track 'Pony Funk', are just as self-conscious and their music policy equally wide.
But their reason for mimicking a radio show seems to be simply to give them an extra avenue to have a laugh with.
Hence the album is peppered with a constant fairground of incidental outclips (crowned by 'Disney Boys') that pop-up in between songs and sometimes mid track.
The most consistent musical form, apart from an ever-present backdrop of funk, is atmospheric deep house with slight Eighties references, most obviously reminiscent of Metreo Area but nothing like as earnest.
Tracks such as 'Superyou', 'Les Parapluies De Saint Georg' and 'A New Bassline For Jose' should be lapped up by Metro Area fans - especially since these three are instrumentals and don't feature the irritation of vocodas.
Equally 'Blow My Mind', an International Pony Remix of a Deejay Punkroc featuring Austin Cole track, sees a welcome introduction of vocoda free vocal lines and introduces a R&B tempos.
And the excellent punk funk of 'My Mouth (Phony The Phunk)' dabbles in hard-edged poodle rock spun around the excellently bizarre 'my mouth feels like chewing gum' hook line.
And, even though it's been hard to listen to a vocoda since Cher's 'Believe', International Pony achieve the near impossible and actually use the vocoda in an original, and, ourse funny, way. To hear this you'll need to fast forward to, or preferably wait for, 'Leaving Home UK Edit'. It's the last track, but well worth being patient for. Genius that should have you laughing like a hyena - or crying like a woolf.
