REVIEW: Ass Ponys, Some Stupid With A Flare Gun (Checkered Past)
- David J. Klug
One year ago, as the A&R guy for Tar Hut Records, I came in receipt of a demo record titled Radio Pals In The Hands Of The Mau Mau, by the Ass Ponys. It was an amazing whirlwind of quirky and trippy pop rock that I described to my label mates as "fantastic new stuff." I was the big Ass Ponys fan at the label, having followed the band since their debut on Okra in 1990. (Incidentally, that debut, Mr. Superlove, is reportedly the only record ever released in vinyl, cassette and CD format.) The band's third effort, 1994's Electric Rock Music (A&M), played on my stereo as much as anything that year.
After receiving the Mau Mau demos I toiled over the fact that Tar Hut couldn't afford to consider a release of the music (such is life at a struggling indie label). Time drifted by and I dragged my blanket around for months, and enjoyed the record as best and as often as I could.
What a thrill it is to see this album surface. Some Stupid With A Flare Gun is Mau Mau mixed, mastered, re-sequenced, and released by one of today's best indie labels, Checkered Past. The Ass Ponys have been accurately compared to Pere Ubu and Pavement, and despite some MTV airplay of videos from Electric Rock Music never captured the wide attention of the post-Nevermind audience they truly deserved.
Some Stupid is also the band's first record since A&M released and immediately forgot The Known Universe in 1996, a near deathblow action for the band. What it has in common with Electric Rock Music is the band at their very best. Producer Brad Jones (Marshall Crenshaw, Steve Forbert) steers them straight and the Ass Ponys sound completely invigorated. At least one song, "Astronaut," should top the college radio charts if targeted. Fantastic new stuff indeed!
For more information, check out http://www.checkeredpast.com
