A review for your perusal

As promised, here's my review of The Pony's Turn the Light s Out, to be published in the Maroon March 30th:Post-punk revival is currently dominating alternative rock, and no post-punk revivalist band right now is smarter than The Ponys. With their third album, the magnificent Turn the Lights Out, The Ponys have joined the ranks of the Big Black, Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair as one of the giants of Chicago alternative rock. What strikes me most about Turn the Lights Out is how The Ponys don’t let their devotion to past bands hamper their originality. Unlike similar revivalists Interpol and Franz Ferdinand, who skid the line between influence and outright plagiarism, it‘s harder to think of one band that sounds quite like the Ponys. You could come up with as extensive laundry list of influences as you want—the Voidoids, Naked Raygun, Dinosaur Jr, and Sonic Youth would be among the first mentioned—but you’d have a much harder time picking out specific reference points. To curtly summarize the album’s sound, think of the transcendental guitar textures of Television filtered through the guitar haze of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Like all Ponys albums, Turn the Lights Out starts off with the albums best track, “Double Vision.” With raw production and superb use of trademark alternative rock soft/loud dynamics, the track sets the tone for a remarkable journey that follows. As we go through the twee title track, the slower-paced “Shine,” the majestic “Kingdom of Hearts,” and the keyboard-driven, Modern Lovers-inspired “Maybe I’ll Try,” we ultimately come out with one of the best albums of the young year. The Ponys haven taken many new directions here: the primal garage stomp is gone with Ian Adams’s departure, and Jered Gummere’s Richard Hell-like vocals are kept to a minimum. This is the least vocally-driven Ponys album yet, and while the singing remains at the top of the mix when present, it is frequently reduced to a near-whisper. Perhaps the most striking departure is the Ponys’ unprecedented lyrical fury. After reaching the Mecca of indie rock by signing to Matador, Turn the Lights Out launches some of the most piercing jabs at indie culture from within since the days of Minor Threat. It’s immensely tempting to view the title of the album as a response to Interpol’s Turn On the Bright Lights, and with the subtle sarcasm directed against cut-and-paste culture and hollow relationships in tracks like “Small Talk” and “Poser Psychotic,” this album feels every bit as exhilarating as a classic punk album, but with enough musical smarts to sustain repeated listening.