The Ponys - Laced With Romance (In the Red)

Reviewed by Mark Oster

Okay, so it's January of 2005, and we're just getting around to reviewing one of Chicago's big winners of 2004. Give us a break, we're tiny, sometimes we have to wait until one of us goes and buys the album. Better late than never though, right? Anyway, if you aren't familiar with The Ponys, they're comprised of members of the Guilty Pleasures, the Mushuganas, and Happy Supply, and they're worth every bit of hype you've heard. I'm sure you've heard that plenty of times about the multitude of post punk and/or garage throwback acts we've seen on the national and local radar over the last half decade, but The Ponys are definitely one to take note of. Think Mudhoney, if they were trying to make people dance. On Laced With Romance, there's an abundance of fuzzed out guitar tone with straight, hard hitting drum beats and moving, slightly grooving (hey, I'm a poet and didn't know it) bass lines keeping the tunes rolling along. The songs are fun, front man Jered yelps with a Robert Smithlike squeak to his voice. His repetitive melodies leave plenty of room for simple but effective guitar leads and electric organ hooks. This album is definitely a must if you are at all intrigued by modern post punk/60's style garage. If you're reading this and still don't have this album, we haven't left you much time to say you liked them before it was cool, and for that we apologize.

Originally posted in Issue 2.1, January/February 2005