The Ponys Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
On their third album (and first for Matador), Chicago noise-pop titans the Ponys offer up a few small but noticeable changes from the approach of their first two albums, Laced with Romance and Celebration Castle. Ian Adams left the band shortly after Celebration Castle was completed, and Turn the Lights Out marks the recorded debut of new guitarist Brian Case, who brings a more controlled and less frantic style to these new songs. Also, while the first two albums were respectively produced by the relatively hands-off Jim Diamond and Steve Albini, Turn the Lights Out was produced by the band with the assistance of John Agnello, and he seems to have imposed a greater degree of discipline on the Ponys -- this is a decidedly cleaner and more disciplined disc than their earlier efforts, though Agnello still honors the deep and echoey sound that's been the band's trademark in the studio. Despite it all, this still sounds like the Ponys, and the changes have done them much more good than harm. Having spent plenty of time on the road with the band before recording Turn the Lights Out, Case has seamlessly integrated with his bandmates, especially Jered Gummere, with whom he's become half of an impressive guitar team. Bassist Melissa Elias and drummer Nathan Jerde back them up with a faultless sense of purposefully woozy swing, and the results are as powerful as anything these folks have put to tape, capturing a juicy, organic give-and-take between the players without squeezing the life out of the music. Agnello's production and engineering offers a wealth of aural detail while creating a strong, unified aural presence. And quite simply, the Ponys sound like champs on this set -- they play with both precision and dark fire, the songs are top-notch, and the epochal closer, "Pickpocket Song," is a masterpiece. Turn the Lights Out is the most mature and technically accomplished album the Ponys have made to date, but it doesn't lack the excitement and edge of the fine music that preceded it, and they've quietly grown into one of the best young bands currently at work. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Celebration Castle'
Release Date 4/26/2005
Tracks 10
Label In the Red
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Ponys served up a wildly distinctive sound on their debut album, 2004's Laced With Romance, and it's the good fortune of listeners everywhere that they've actually gotten better (and added some new layers to their approach) on their sophomore long-player, Celebration Castle. While the Ponys' broad palate of influences hasn't changed all that much -- a muscular and sweaty mélange of noisy pop sounds, ranging from the Velvet Underground and Richard Hell to the Cure and My Bloody Valentine -- their noisy, guitar-fueled pop has developed an even hookier melodic presence without losing the edge of Jered Gummere's and Ian Adams' guitars, which are fused with a precision that makes the hedonistic abandon of their music all the more stunning. The Ponys are one of those rare bands who seem to have the mind/body thing figured out -- their music is decidedly smart, but they also know how to have a wild good time, and Celebration Castle is packed with clever, brilliantly constructed songs that give the band room to whip themselves into a glorious frenzy that communicates on plastic with admirable clarity. (Steve Albini's recording goes a long way towards capturing the finer details of their performances while making the most of their physical impact.) And the best songs here trump the fine material on Laced With Romance, most notably "Glass Conversation," "We Shot the World" and "Shadow Box." Celebration Castle confirms what anyone who heard Laced With Romance suspected -- that the Ponys are growing into one of the best and most powerfully pleasurable rock bands of their generation. If they can make another album this good, they'll be nothing short of unstoppable. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Laced with Romance'
Release Date 2/17/2004
Tracks 12
Label In The Red
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With their blasts of fuzzy guitar, '60s-inspired melodic hooks, and occasional bursts of Farfisa organ, it would be easy to file the Ponys in with the current crop of punk-leaning nuevo garage bands. Then again, it wouldn't be especially accurate -- while the Ponys no doubt dig garage rock, a spin of their debut album, Laced With Romance, suggests they've been listening to the Velvet Underground, the Cure, early Pere Ubu, My Bloody Valentine, and the Jesus and Mary Chain more than the Sonics or the Seeds. And while their influences certainly seep through the cracks, the Ponys certainly have ideas and ambitions all their own, and the buzzy blur of Laced With Romance obeys a post-teenage aural logic of their own making. There's a heady joy to the Ponys' music, but there's also more than a bit of menace in Jered Gummere's yelping vocals, the ringing single-note lines of Ian Adams' guitar, and the snappy wallop of the rhythm section. And while the songs sound catchy and engaging on the surface, there's a messed-up undercurrent that periodically bobs to the surface on tunes like "10 Fingers 11 Toes," "Let's Kill Ourselves," and "Looking Out a Mirror." (The echoed layers of Jim Diamond's production certainly add to the album's impact.) Laced With Romance brings to mind the psychedelic ideal of music for the mind and body, but instead of calling out to some imagined land of peace and flowers, the Ponys want to create a little downtown Chicago in your head, where all is loud, frantic, and gloriously dirty, and the result is a one-way voyage you'll want to take more than once. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
