Artist: Pony Up
Album: Make Love to the Judges with Your Eyes
Label: Dim Mak
Tracks: 11
Length: 47:16
Review by: John Durkee

Pony Up is an all-female quartet from the new capitol of indie rock, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band has been around since 2002 and before Make Love to the Judges… the band has only released one EP, but has toured extensively. To record Make Love… they went to the local producing hero, Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade).

The albums opener, "Dance for Me," has a slow build from a quiet piano and reserved vocal start to an interesting usage of guitars and a smooth bass line. It isn’t amazing, but once the musical intermission starts and the back up vocals come in, the song gains real momentum and is almost catchy. This description is pretty characteristic of the whole album: a start that is almost boring that builds into a mildly enjoyable song.

Twisted lyrics that are both fun and bizarre mark the entire album. Some may see the lyrics as a bit off, but the sentiments held in them are mostly harmless. Vocally the album isn't very strong as Pony Up’s two singers have relatively weak voices that are slightly off here and there. This may be a reason for one not to like the band, but most won’t care much in favor of their song writing and lyrical charm.

Other highlights on the record include "The Truth About Cats and Dogs (is That They Die)," an upbeat song reminiscent of Pretty Girls Make Graves, "Only Feel Good," with its catchy chorus surrounded by accordion and great guitar riff and "Ships," using a recorder and another cleverly catchy chorus.

This record will surely please major fans of the genre and likely crossover to a few others who enjoy subtly fun pop music. Make Love… isn’t the most accessible record to those wanting to be shown the giant guitar riffs or big vocal hooks and therefore won't be a huge crowd pleaser. That said it's a decent record that most indie rock fans can enjoy on some level.