Can the saturation of good melodies be a bad thing? Quite possibly. In The Ponys' case, their album Turn The Lights Out is full of good guitar/vocal interplay, but it doesn't ever hit a level of greatness, and is ultimately, a massive tease.
One would think that each of the catchy garage rock and new wave moments in the album are building up to something, but they tend to lull around or solo out and leave the anticipation merely at an "elevated" level. Maybe this album as a whole is just building up to a great one.
Turn The Lights Out, The Ponys' third album, is no question their most advanced effort. Throughout the album are lofty guitar solos, non-fattening post-rock filler, and vocal melodies to work your pants off. "Everyday Weapon" has a powerful guitar buzz and back-alley shouting that will make you want to join their gang. The title track is a cool organ-driven slowbounce, similar sing-a-long. "Kingdom of Hearts" is a short post-grunge burst that couldn't lose your attention if it tried. "Double Vision" grooves along an ass-kicking distortion jam. There's danceability, room to yell, and dark fun to spare.
If Turn The Lights Out is lacking anything, however, it's the starpower that all of this indicates they're capable of. It's a bit of a let-down. Vocals are empowering, but not memorable. Riffs are solid throughout, but feel re-done. Rhythms are explosive, but aimed for tired legs. It's like they're on their way to mastering everything that people love about the last 25 years of dark, anglicized rock, but haven't quite fully worked in their own ideas. Once they get settled, they're more than capable of unleashing the next great step.
The Ponys appear to truly live up to their name. They're energetic, full of promise, and have a very traceable heritage. But while they do justice to their britpop/new wave/punk inheritance, they haven't hit their full stride (yet?). They're fun to listen to but they haven't particularly begun creating their own legacy. In the meantime, though, Turn The Lights Out is a solid gallop through familiar pastures and surely propels them further in a great direction.
