Search - Pony Up :: Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes

Two-Trick Ponies with Good Tricks

Anthony Vinciguerra | Boston | 11/07/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The hits on this album come early and often. The first three songs have the most radio appeal or pop-like sound. The first song ("Dance for Me") is dark, voyeuristic, and oddly, it's almost a ballad. Despite being so unique, it's a song I can listen to over and over.



What the next two songs ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs" and "Possible Harm") have in common is fun keyboard work by Laura Wills that coincides perfectly with the vocals. It's almost impossible to listen to these songs without bouncing your head side to side ala Snoopy when he dances.



The other three songs that make this album worth buying are "The Best Offence," "What's Free Is Yours," and "Pastime Endeavour." Even though these three songs are mellower than "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" and "Possible Harm," they feature excellent guitar work by Sarah Moundroukas and sultry vocals.



One major criticism of this album is that most of the 11 songs on this album sound too similar. If you like "Dance for Me" and "The Truth About Cats and Dogs," (listen to the samples on Amazon), you'll love this album. If you don't, you'll hate this album. Be sure to listen to "Possible Harm," which is my favorite song on the album because it cohesively blends the two song types.



Another criticism is that five of the songs on this album seem to lack the effort and creativity with which the other six songs drip. They sound almost a cappella because the drums, guitar and bass are grayed out from being mixed down so much.



Despite these flaws, I do recommend this album. (I wish I could rate it 3.5 stars, because I was torn between 3 and 4.) This talented group of women from Montreal put together six enjoyable songs that I'm enjoying while I wait for Pony Up's next release, which I'm hoping will be a more complete album."

Sad, Smooth Yet Strangely Driven Debut Is Consistent To a Fa

Collin Anderson | NY | 03/07/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Yet another band hailing from the indie Holy Land of Montreal, Pony Up! is an all-female group that meets the pressure to produce a worthy debut with a degree of modesty and five level heads. They demonstrate right off the bat what eventually feels like an inevitable pop songwriting sensibility. As the cliché goes, first impressions will stick, and for Pony Up! the foremost distinction is the slick, borderline-adult-contemporary production that comfortably plops acoustic guitars and pianos into every track. But these instruments hardly wander, though they twinkle: if anything, the clever manipulation of keyboard timbre and use of guitar pedals (for short, repeated hooks) more strongly associates them with the likes of indie-pop acts like the Magnetic Fields or early New Pornographers. It's an irrevocably cute and popular technique for cementing a song's identity without bizarre shenanigans or a bias in the eternal struggle of production versus songwriting.



Still, I'd be lying if I pretended this what the most gripping aspect of the album. In fact, the cake has to go to the band's rhythm section. Bassist Lisa Smith and drummer Lindsay Willis essentially carve a bowl to hold the nectar of the indie-pop hooks. Their muscular, multidimensional sound is not particularly unique, but for this album it substantiates even the schmaltzier moments and prevents the band from the all-too-common fate of getting lost in its own preciousness. The momentum is particularly valuable when repeated listens reveal the identifying hooks are more theoretical than definite; more often than not, the time-tried method is tweaked and compensated in the name of their decidedly inoffensive and utterly smooth melodies. So, for example, the use of accordion on "Only Feelgood" ends up sounding so utterly appropriate in its background role that one simply can't anticipate a thrill on the level of the Arcade Fire's "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)." It's times like these that it's nice to have drums and bass in the mix to act as a sort of primal safety net.



This dichotomy is strangely apparent in the vocals as well, which are shared by all five women. There's obvious expected variation in tone and inflection betwixt them, but not obviously enough that many listeners could really distinguish them. Besides, they're united by the appeal of their conviction, though what makes it so magnetic is tough to describe. Certainly it's a far cry from the adorable innocence inherent in Joanna Newsom's voice, yet it's certainly not as unyieldingly harsh as Alanis Morissette's. Nor do weepiness and fragility consume the vocal roles in the spirit of countless others. The weave is a satisfying balance that is resolute without being isolating; like the instruments, the thin, emotional and pretty are the subject but the strength of the backbone prevents it all from collapsing into mush. It's the prevailing attitude that elevates the merely "pretty good" vocal tunes and lyrics ("I miss not knowing you so well") to a more poignant level.



It'd be misleading to say the album wanes in its latter half, because they apply the formula to relative success with very song. In fact, it makes for an album with a flow as smooth and easy as any single track within it. Some might describe it as "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and some would describe it as monotony. As usual, neither connotation accurately touches on the lingering bittersweet taste in the last few (inexorably forgettable) tracks. But at the end of the day, despite the steady decline, the album holds together as an honest collection of songs by a group that is musically adept enough to create the subtle complexity their thoughts and emotions deserve. It will be a tough act to follow, but as far as the debut's concerned the band's a solid addition to the community."

Creepy Crawler stomped by a hoof

Jennifer Cole | Athens, GA | 02/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite people with more livid musical poppy tastes, ALL of the songs are uniquely wothwhile. It is not the incessant and mistakenly [similar] sound that mislabels the band for monotonous. Instead, you must hear them openly--it is the lyrics and emotion that get such amazing songs like "Ships" that make me wonder how any of it can be taken for granted. Every song is beautiful, and the album is one I can hold to my bosom and cherish with excitement at every listen. While the background music is subtle at times, it is still empowering and in grand alignment with the lead singer's convicting voice. The mood is invigorating, but plaintive as well. While the genre is a pseudo-pop, the band Pony Up! goes beyond a superficial level. Listen to let your heart understand-you can hurl your hurt away, and know you are a sanctuary of self."