Pony Up
Make Love To The Judges With Your Eyes
Inertia


The first thing that people who aren't me noticed about Pony Up's The Truth About Cats And Dogs (Is That They Die), is that it sounded like a diet version of Pretty Girls Make Graves. I can kind of understand that, out of context - Sarah Mandroukas' voice, as opposed to the more relaxed style of Laura Wills, does occasionally channel Andrea Zollo's urgent mania - but don't think for a moment that this is a record for those potential 'Pretty Girls fans who would rather not get excited. The first thing I noticed about this record, aside from its awesome title, was its first track (well, duh), Dance For Me - a breathy, frightening demand. After that, the album seemed somewhat monotonous.

That's not to say that there's no diversity on this album - in fact, there's probably too much, at the expense of consistency. It's just that Wills' Dance For Me is so exciting, that the descent into more traditional girl-pop was something of a shame. Within that context, another Wills song, the dirge-like The Best Offence has a delightful country-style chorus harmony ("I miss, not knowing you soooo well"), while her Only Feelgood begins opportunistically with a slightly off-key accordion, What's Free Is Yours - well, now we're back to Mandroukas and, thus, to Pretty-Girls-land, only this one's more melancholic and thus cooler...

No, wait, let me stand corrected. All of Mandroukas' songs have this 'Pretty Girls thing going. It's not just the voice, either. Eh, everyone else was right again. Then again, Dance For Me seemed to channel a more pop-conscious Cat Power, which understandably was an exciting concept. It's quite a good record, nonetheless.

Ben Revi