With their latest EP, Vancouver rock band Black Pontiac delves deeper into forging a sound that’s entirely in their own league. From nostalgic inspirations to the thrill of playing live, they’re inviting us along for the ride.
From the moment they emerged onto the scene, it has been clear that Black Pontiac are so much more than a ‘local band’. Hailing from Vancouver, BC, the band rise above the indie-rock landscape with an eclectic mix of powerful storytelling, groovy hits, and undeniable spirit. Their latest EP, Ponyboy 2, further solidifies this. The project draws on various inspirations, such as the hectic Vancouver scene in which it was created and nostalgic literary emblems such as Ponyboy from the 1967 novel ‘The Outsiders’.
In an interview with lead vocalist Matt Purkiss, guitarist Mack Riddell, bassist Avery Shoesmith, and drummer Sam Riddell, I sought further insight into the band’s creative journey – one that has been years in the making, and yet in the same vein feels like it’s just getting started.
Like most great bands, Matt and Mack’s songwriting origins were humble, informed by particular pivotal experiences such as Matt’s exposure to live shows: “I think that was a transformative moment for me personally, where I was like - oh yeah, I could do that, absolutely, I want to do that”. This is the endearing theme that runs throughout Black Pontiac’s story, grounding their evolving style in the simplicity of making music both the band and the fans love. This shared admiration is evident in Ponyboy 2, with its roll-out spanning six months of singles, each one being received with the same love as the next in terms of streams.
Both EPs, Ponyboy and Ponyboy 2, share inspiration from a character in ‘The Outsiders’, a novel detailing gang rivalry between the working class ‘Greasers’ and the upper-middle class ‘Socs’. Ponyboy, who Matt believes has subconsciously “evolved over time as a concept”, is torn between his rough-around-the-edges upbringing and his sensitive, artistic side. This typifies what the band attempts to capture throughout their storytelling. “There’s something very interesting in that, in the same way that a flower grows out of the cracks of the pavement”. Additionally, Mack speaks on the ‘Greasers’ aesthetic from the movie adaptation which the band collectively enjoy, and Avery (only half-jokingly) equates a key characteristic of Ponyboy to their artistry: “the stuff we’re making here, the songs, they’re golden, just like Ponyboy”.
Characters aside, the centre of the music is the band itself, with the EP and single covers transitioning from drawn artwork to photography. Inspired by a Pinterest image of a Barbie mugshot found by frontman Matt a year prior, and the creative endeavours of artist Luke Beach Bown at First Floor Collective, these pieces “expand on this theme of toys juxtaposed with [a] harder-edged look… which creates this interesting dichotomy of hard and soft and glam and rigidness”. According to Matt, “the Black Pontiac sound exists at the end of that road”.
This sound, first shared in 2018 with Wherever, Always and Forever, has evolved greatly – it has been polished into the 2020 EP Ponyboy, took a cohesive shape in their 2022 debut album, From Bad to Worse (And Back Again), and is only propelled further through Ponyboy 2. With this project, “the idea of something cohesive wasn’t as important as just making good music”, steering clear of the pitfalls of cohesion which often result in “every song [sounding] exactly the same”. It’s an easy road to fall down, but the band’s authenticity and approach to creating music prevents this trap. “Usually it comes from an idea, and then it’s just a lot of jamming and everybody comes up with their own thing”, says guitarist Mack. This process is so fundamentally human, and leads the band to instrumental goldmines such as in the song ‘Call Me Lover’: “the idea we had for the chorus just turned into something so groovy and so danceable, which I thought was really cool for a rock song to have”.
Whether in the studio or playing live, Black Pontiac is ultimately “four guys sitting in a room playing instruments together”, as put eloquently by frontman Matt. It’s clear to listeners that this accomplishment is a collective effort - brothers Mack and Sam were raised around music by their musician dad, with Mack learning guitar aged seven. Sam picked up drums at fourteen, reasoning that “if I was going to start as late as fourteen, I was going to choose the easiest one to learn”, or, as Mack puts it, “monkey go bang bang”. The band cycled through bassists before landing on Avery, who can probably play more instruments than I can name, and learned bass only upon joining the band. Together with their frontman, they draw on unique influences ranging from Sublime, The Hives, Jimi Hendrix, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, amongst various others. “We all have a very varied palate, which just happens to overlap in a way that ends up becoming very fruitful when we collaborate”, says Matt.
This process of music creation mirrors the Black Pontiac live experience, which turns listeners into dedicated fans who keep coming back to shows. As Matt explains, “by the nature of that [songwriting] process, the songs are going to translate well live”. He recalls a particular Schwey concert he attended, describing it as a life-changing blur – a rush that he’s been dedicated to recapturing ever since, and it’s safe to say that they’ve succeeded. People have described their shows as “this almost religious experience” that the band can share with their rapidly growing audience. For Mack, “just having fans that are actually willing to smile and dance and mosh and have a fun time really helps with putting on great performances”, and this is felt by each member equally. Often not being able to see the crowd, drummer Sam feels a lesser connection, however his contributions to the live experience are most definitely felt by fans. A quintessential live track like ‘Go Go Hollywood’ without the driving drumbeat is a jarring thought, further attesting to the group dynamic which crafts this perfect fan experience.
This experience, spawned from the Vancouver music scene and taken around Canada, is now expanding into new territories, with the band set to play Treefort Fest in Idaho next year. When asked how they feel about this, Matt responds: “We're not a local band. We're Black Pontiac, and I think people recognize that”. He would be right, Black Pontiac is quickly growing in international recognition, with fans found anywhere from South America to the UK, making them without-a-doubt deserving of these opportunities.
There’s something so perfect about viewing this band through the perspective of journeys, metaphorical as well as physical. There is a clear journey from the EP’s first single, ‘I NEED PEACE BUT WAR IS FUN’, which builds a bridge between previous standalone singles and the EP, touching on Matt’s frustrations within the music industry, to the closing track ‘Slow Dance at the Disco (JY Remix)’, which sees producer James Younger subtly reimagine the pop-oriented ballad to “[dial] some of the vocals in, tuning-wise”, reflecting the closer of the first Ponyboy EP. “I think it's less about one single feeling and more about a journey. You're with us on this journey now, and it's not over yet”, asserts Matt. It’s this exact journey that has led me to this article, and will lead you towards a greater appreciation of the phenomenon that is Black Pontiac. The same journey may lead us to a potential Ponyboy 3 (“Maybe, maybe not. Who's to say?”), but one thing is for sure: wherever this journey takes us will only see more success, appreciation, and opportunities for this incredible band.
When asked for final remarks, Matt concluded ‘Ponyboy 2 out now everywhere. Follow your dreams. It’s going to be okay’.
Find the band on Instagram and TikTok (@blackpontiacmusic), on X/Twitter (@BlackPontiac_), and at their website www.blackpontiac.com.
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