Turn the Lights Out

The screeches, scratches and backhanded slaps of dueling yet oh-so-complementary guitars drill right to the very core of the Ponys' third album much like their teeth-gnashing debut, Laced With Romance. Only the atmosphere's much hazier and less haphazard this time around, due in part to the controlled chords of recent guitarist recruit Brian Case. A perfect foil for frontman Jered Gummere, Case helps the group remove the subtle, retro rock keyboards of their back catalogue in favor of riffs so expressive they might as well get a guest vocalist credit for the entire album. Not that Gummere's stopped yelping like a modern day Richard Hell or anything. Sawed-off pool cue jams like "Double Vision" and "Everyday Weapon" are among the Ponys' fiercest songs ever, but we can't help but keep going back to the mournful guitar melody that drips like a syringe across "Kingdom of Hearts; or the nearly seven-minute "Pickpocket Song," an eye of the storm climax that ranks among the best indie rock album closers of the past few years. Don't play this album if your roommate's trying to sleep, but do drop it right in the next time you need a sonic shot in the arm.