PONY UP!

"Pony Up bring a sense of humour, sexuality, lightness of touch and profound innocent musicality to what they do." -Ben Lee

"More or less the Beatles in Hamburg—irreverent, industrious and exciting as hell to follow." - Elliot Aronow (Spin Magazine)

Feeling they had abounding musical talents to unleash on the world, Pony Up - Montreal's preeminent all-female pop conquerors - formed at the behest of bassist Lisa J Smith and her new-found friend, guitarist Sarah Moundroukas. To complete the band, Lisa recruited two of her oldest friends in the world: drummer Lindsay Wills - with whom she had collaborated musically before - and Lindsay's kid sister, Laura Elizabeth. Lisa saw great potential in Laura, mostly because of her musically inclined parents, and her desperate need for attention. Laura was convinced to join the band (and learn the keyboard) by the promise of a secret band-handshake. And so Pony Up was formed, on New Year’s Eve 2002.

Through the course of the 3 years it took to write, record and release their self -titled EP, the girls toured North America extensively, honing their stage show and polishing their chops. By the time the Pony Up EP was released in January 2005, the band's songwriting and musicianship had evolved to the point that their live sets rarely included more than one song from that EP. As a band having outgrown their recorded output, back to Montreal's legendary Hotel2Tango Studios they went to record their first full-length, with the help of local go-to recording genius Howard Ian Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade) and American import, engineering hot-shot Brian Paulson (Beck, Wilco).

Although made up of slightly darker tones and slower beats, Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes, Pony Up's debut full-length release, shows the band has not lost their pop sensibility or confessional lyricism. With songs sung by either the straight-shooting, classic-pop lover Laura, or the more enigmatic, less-than-conventional Sarah - both backed by the Pony Up choir - Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes is the sound of a band hitting its stride.

Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes is set to release May 9, 2006, on Dim Mak Records.

Dim Mak Releases:
DM066: Ben Lee/Pony Up! 7" Buy it Here
DM064: Pony UP! "S/T" CDEP Buy it Here
DM099: Pony Up "Make Love To The Judges With Your Eyes" CD Buy It Here

Listen
Shut Up and Kiss Me from "S/T" EP
The Truth About Cats and Dogs (is That They Die) from "Make Love to The Judges With Your Eyes"

Press

Faketrain.com does a great review of Pony Up's latest album. "Make Love is smooth and gentle, yet haunting and chilly. At times Pony Up reminds me of the raw youthful pop-punch of Go Sailor ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs (Is That They Die)"), the down tempo quietness of Slumber Party ("The Best Offence" and "Ships"), and the innocent spunk of Tiger Trap." Click the image to read the full review.

"Pony Up are four girls from Montreal who write damn catchy songs. Especially the second song "The Truth About Cats And Dogs (Is That They Die)" is an earwig I wasn't able to get out of my head for days after listening to it. In a way this song could be the best dancefloor track Rainer Maria never wrote (and hell I love that band!!!). It's not only Rainer Maria that come to my mind when listening to Pony Up but also this band I loved in back in the days called The Murmurs (also highly recommended!!). This debut full length for Dim Mak was recorded by Howard Ian Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade) and Brian Paulson (Beck, Wilco). I guess this means it sounds quite professional but still with the charme of a lo-fi garage band. Very, very, very good stuff!"

Stellar review from the UK music site, Takingnotes.org. "In short, 'Return To Cookie Mountain' and 'Ships' had better watch their step in the great Album Of 2006 stand-off. Pony Up and me, we're more than going steady." You better believe it! Click the image to read full review.

Adapt Magazine Review. "Pony Up’s female line-up and sound will particularly do better with the female crowd, but is distinctly good for fans of Stars, Donna, Gregory and the Hawk." Click image for full review.

Here is an AMAZING interview with Pony Up, courtesy of the the excellent people at Paper Magazine and their Blog Department. Solid questions and great answers from the band. Click the pony up image to read the full interview.

Here's a positive review of "Make Love..." from musicedge.com. Click the log to read the whole article.

Nice little review from evertythingrock.com. Lyrics like "My self-respect/ means more to me/ than you do/ or at least it used to" strike with frightening honesty as the gorgeous harmonies coast along.

AMAZING 5 out of 5 from Bullz Eye.com! At long last, here it is. The first CD of 2006 that I’ve deemed worthy of the five-star rating. And the year’s already half over, so what does that tell you about the amount of truly great albums coming out?

Look, Pony Up is one of the featured albums of the month at indiepulse.com. Click the logo to read more.

Treble.com did a very extensive and positive review of the new Pony Up album. "Songs by both can be poignant, sad and profound while telling a simple story. Even the handwritten lyrics in the liner notes give some insight into the album"

Here's a stellar Pony Up feature from Paper Magazine's AMAZING music blog. Maybe the best, indie rock blog on the net "This incrediblely talented, all-female pop group from Montreal is definitely a band to watch in 2006." Damn straigh.

Pony Up's "Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes" was album of the day at CMJ.com!!! You can read the full review by clicking the banner.

3.5 out of 5 from upbeatmusic.com. "In fact, the cake has to go to the band‚s rhythm section. Bassist Lisa Smith and drummer Lindsay Willis essentially carve a bowl to hold the nectar of the indie-pop hooks."

Excellent review from allmuisc.com. "Their guileless manner of singing is a conscious choice, and it gives a sense of unabashedness to songs that mere words and melody would not establish"

"Make Love To The Judges With Your Eyes" gets an enthusiastic 8/10 from Wrank Music.com.

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