Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/03/2005
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
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