Photo by Kris Scofield

Anyone who feels that frequent shrieking and howling are masks for an inability to sing need not listen to Baltimore’s Ponytail. While Molly Siegel certainly isn’t a vocalist who solely screams at pitches usually reserved for dog whistles, she opts for cooing, whooping and grunting in lieu of uttering actual words. As such, Ponytail walks a tightrope between utterly infectious and thoroughly irritating. But judging by the utter excitement of the crowd at DC9 last Thursday, last week D.C. was decidedly with the yaysayers.

Siegel tends to be the focal point because her proverbial stylings don’t sound like any other singer on the popular, or even slightly underground radar. While she definitely owes credit to the riotgrrl movement, and even more credit to the intangibles of Animal Collective’s Avey Tare and Pixies’ Black Francis, she’s removed any traces of anger. Siegel oozes glee and luckily, has enough sounds in her arsenal to keep the music interesting. It’s clear by some of her strange arm movements and facial expressions that this is not someone who has ever practiced in front of a mirror. She just flails about onstage, eyes rolled back into her head as if she’s either exorcising some weird demon or having the time of her life.