Customer Reviews

Turn the Lights Out (Dig)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is safe to say that if you liked the Ponys before, you will still like them. If you have never heard them, NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO GET INTO THEM. There are some incredibly catchy songs on here that just stick in your head like glue: Double Vision, Small Talk, Harikiri, etc. I forsee these songs being all over mixtapes this summer!

This is a great LP, influenced by all the great classics like TELEVISION (particularly the vocals), FELT (not as British, but its those vocals), THE PIXIES, JESUS & MARY CHAIN, DINOSAUR JR, etc. The guitars are not as loud & abrasive as they should be (at least I think) but let's hope they fix that for the next LP.

They have been selling out gigs here in Chicago for a couple years now but hopefully their appearence at the Pitchfork Music Festival this summer will introduce and endear them to alot more folks! Good luck to this band, I think they would be a great opening band for an upcoming SPOON or TV ON THE RADIO tour or something.

A switch from In The Red Records to Matador didn't slow these neo-psychedelic garage rockers one bit. Nor did their decision to choose a less notorious, yet equally experienced, John Agnello to produce their 3rd record (as oppose to previous producers Steve Albini and Jim Diamond). The production is still abrasive and honest with an extra amount of spaciness not found on their previous two albums. "Double Vision" may have been the best choice as lead off track and debut single, but try programming all the even tracks on one listen and all the odd tracks on a separate listen and I swear you have two different EPs here. Good thing they both work well together to bring us the same indie rock masterpiece. The odd tracks remind me of a car wreck between the Los Angeles Paisley Underground of the 80s and the primitive post-punk eras of The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen. Even number tracks like "Everyday Weapon" and "Poser Psychotic" will keep long time fans of the Ponys believing the band still has the chops to put on one of the best live shows around.

This band has it all: talent, style, looks, KILLER guitar-driven rock & roll songs. I recently saw the Ponys open for Spoon. I WISH their set was longer, because they have so many great tunes on their albums. 'Turn the Lights Out' is their best album yet. Jered, their singer & guitarist, has a deep, spooky, evocative way of singing lyrics that are anything from straightforward. The Ponys use pedal effects, reverb, feedback, all woven seamlessly to create a guitar-heavy thrill ride in each song. They also have a rhythm section- bass player & drummer- who seem to be psychicly linked with the 2 guitarists. At times the Ponys sound like The Cure, at times like Inspiral Carpets, so they definitely show their influences, which is a good thing. And I wouldn't put their music into the 'psychedelic' style of guitar rock so much or the too-general garage rock category. I'm not sure the Ponys fit into any category. But they do use guitar effects to achieve some really pleasing sort of post-punk-style
results. And the low-key, eerie, sometimes British-sounding vocal style of Jered Gummere is a total delight. I would recommend starting out with this album if you are just getting into the Ponys, then going for their other 2, Celebration Castle & Laced With Romance. Those 2 albums are a bit different in sound.

If you like the pixies, Jesus and Mary Chain, etc. you'll love this CD. I'm more of a fan of indie rock than the forementioned bands, but I love it nonetheless. There's something here for everyone.

The Ponys are often lumped into the garage rock scene and often considered one of the finer young bands making rock music today. Yet, on their 2007 album, Turn the Lights Out, this is not an accurate description of their sound. Instead, a more plausible description of the Ponys is a band that is still struggling to find its identity amiss all the Sonic Youth-like fuzz, punk-style vocals and noise pop melodies. It is a shame, because there seems to be a unique voice crying out for something better amongst the rattle of post-punk revivalists, a band that wants to find their own niche amongst these modern groups. Instead they fall into a clique more often than not.

It starts out very well-constructed with "Double Vision," which also, unfortunately, rises above the rest of the album so much that once the second song starts, you are wondering if they just somewhat gave up. "Double Vision" is a grand statement of what makes them work beautifully, at least, when they do work -- it memorably features opening cymbal hits that turn into a pedal stomp surrounded with acutely strewn about melodic guitar chime, barely audible bass and that vocal, which shifts from a mellow indie rock-inspired singsong into a throaty punk-like sneer. It makes it equal parts gorgeous and rebellious, danceable and soothing -- much like the pop-melody-flooded-with-noise of the Jesus and Mary Chain's Darklands-era without the lean towards the diabolical, or like the Cure in their The Head on the Door mode, just with more feedback.

Now, if they took those parts and ran with it, it would have been great. Instead, much of the rest of the album seems to be made up of atypically modern songs and rambling, fractured and fragmented ideas; they either have a running time of too long or too short. As the second song, the rave-up "Everyday Weapon" is a shade over two minutes and still manages to go over its bedtime at about the 1:35 mark, it still continues to bash, not play. That song, along with another snot-throated vocal track, "Maybe I'll Try," are two of the songs that for this reason have the most pure punk-inspired spirit in them. Problem is, they have the essence, but not the drive or the heart -- yet, are still exciting enough that it keeps the flow going, unlike the yawny title track and the sleepy dream, pop/shoegaze-inspired "Kingdom of Hearts."

The rest of the songs really do fall into these two general and opposite spectrums: fun, familiar sounding quickie tracks ("Exile on Main Street," "Poser Psychotic") and misguided lengthier ones ("Pickpocket Song," "Shine," "Small Talk"). The other track that stands out, other than the aforementioned "Double Vision," is a song that does not get much recognition. That song is "Harakiri," a song that is driven by a cool-as-hell bassline with squalls of guitar feedback and the vocalist once again in slick, cool-voiced indie rock mold.

When the album concludes with "Pickpocket Song"'s final fuzzy washes, it's a entertaining blunder of an album, something that has a few great moments but sadly seems to feel that if something is not broke, why fix it. Yet, sadly, change can be good, as sameness is conformity, and resistance. As evident on Turn the Lights Out, the Ponys do not yet know growth, but someday they may, and when they do, they will probably be immaculate.

*** (Out of 5)

I love chick bassists!!! Anywho, great musicmanship and nice hooks and melodies! Great things will arise from this band. I love you Melissa.