Credit: Found On Internet

Bands on certain labels will always generate interest by default.  And these bands are the bands that get signed for a reason.  The Ponys are one such act and I am happy to say that they appear to be an act most deserving, a solid brush in a lesson of being lofty and aloof.  As the Jesus & Mary Chain reform to varying degrees of success, it would seem that little resurgence is not going without being noticed.

Another band that I find myself reminded of while listening to this record is the Brian Jonestown Massacre and more specifically their more psychedelic pop and shoegazing moments.  Without meandering, the record packs some kind of weighted punch and in some ways my gut feeling is that we just may have this year’s Interpol.

Probably by way of a well calculated tactic, the album opens in a very direct manner, forging its sound onto the listener’s radar and stamping its authority over the release – a directness I feel is lacking from a great many releases by new acts currently, not that The Ponys are necessarily a new act with this release marking their third album.

Hailing from Chicago (obviously), The Ponys must hail as one of the great discoveries of 2007 as this album certainly ranks highly among my favourite releases of the first half of this year.  Pressing many of the right buttons you might question as to how earnest this release is but while the songs remain crisp and solid that should remain only a concern for the puritans.

With a guitar sound that is seldom clean, generally swamped in several satisfying effects, there is enough strength in the songs for the potential of some kind of crossover success not least on the slacker-esqe stomp of the title track in as well as the fast paced and exhilarating buzz created by 'Everyday Weapon' and 'Double Vision' in addition to the very Pixies-esqe swirl of the uber confident and breathlessly cool 'Harakiri'.  This band is alive.

'Turn The Lights Out' by The Ponys is out now on Matador Records.