PONY, the Toronto fuzz-pop duo of Sam Bielanski and Matty Morand, have been cranking out tons of energetic, diamond-sharp jams lately, and they’ve now announced plans to follow up their 2021 debut album TV Baby. PONY’s second full-length is called Velveteen, and it’s set to come out this spring. A bunch of the album tracks — “Did It Again,” “Peach,” “French Class” — have already come out as one-off singles, and all of them are absolute bangers. Today, we get another banger.

PONY named their new album Velveteen in honor of the classic kids’ book The Velveteen Rabbit; an audiobook version recently helped Sam Bielanski through a rough stretch of insomnia. Bielanski recorded the album’s demos in a closet, working as quietly as possible to avoid pissing off one particular neighbor. You can’t tell that from the songs, which are bright and hooky and as loud as they need to be. PONY’s new single “Très Jolie” is a bouncy, euphoric love song with serious Bettie Serveert vibes. In a press release, Bielanski says this about the song:

“Très Jolie” is obviously a love song. It’s about falling hard and fast, and allowing your love brain to trick you into believing that you’re in a healthier mental state than you truly are. I know I tend to hide the ways that I struggle in the beginning of relationships because everything else feels brand new. “Très Jolie” is about the conflicting emotions of falling in love with someone when you don’t quite love yourself yet.

Below, check out the “Très Jolie” video, the Velveteen tracklist, and PONY’s upcoming shows.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Très Jolie”
02 “Peach”
03 “Sick”
04 “Sucker Punch”
05 “Haunted House”
06 “Who’s Calling”
07 “Did It Again”
08 “French Class”
09 “Sunny Rose”
10 “Haircut”

TOUR DATES:
03/28 – Hamilton, ON @ Mills Hardware *
03/31 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake Underground *
05/19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere ^
05/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
05/21-22 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom ^

* with Softcult
^ with Superheaven

Velveteen is out 5/19 on Take This To Heart Records; pre-order it here.