by JOHNSON CUMMINS

It’s two years and change since Pony Up! adorned the cover of the Mirror’s 2004 Noisemakers issue. In true Montreal fashion, black-hearted bloggers and naysayers, under the cloak of anonymity, were only too quick to pounce on message boards. By the time the “Montreal music explosion” happened, these local ladies, through no fault of their own, found themselves strewn across the glossy pages of Spin and Rolling Stone, and signed to the Dim Mak label. Heck, the poor girls hardly stood a chance against the hordes of myopic nerds pounding their venom out on their ergonomic keyboards.

With all of the negativity heaped on them, there was also support and a solid local fan base building around Pony Up!. It could be argued that there was a bit too much exposure happening early on, and the band’s brand of cutesy pop and the stumbling musicianship, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and between-song banter consisting of giggles hardly helped.

Flash forward and the backbiting has finally subsided, but the fan base has remained and Pony Up! have a new album under their arms that will definitely quiet the blogaholics. Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes (read into the title what you will) still retains the pop naiveté and open-diary lyrics of their debut EP, but this time around, things get darker, with lyrics that draw blood, songs more realized and melodies made even more infectious.

Recorded by Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire) and Brian Paulson (Slint, Unwound, Superchunk) at Hotel2Tango, the record glistens sonically while retaining Pony Up!’s charms. “I think that working at Hotel2Tango for the two weeks over five months is hands down the happiest time of my life,” says keyboardist/singer Laura Wills. “Both Howard and Paul were just so hands off, and were just so comfortable and easy to work with. We just left the songs sparse. It’s not like we added a bunch of tracks that we couldn’t pull off live.”

“We definitely put a lot more care on arrangements, dynamics and harmonies on this one,” adds bassist Lisa J. Smith.

Paging Doctor Feelgood

True, a lot of their bubblegum appeal has been exchanged for a darker musical backdrop, with scathing lyrics to back up the mood, but there are still upbeat pop gems that show off the band’s growing songwriting prowess. “I thought that the first record really represented the band well when we were recording it,” says Wills. “When we were doing the first EP, we were really just into the joy of learning how to play our instruments and write songs, and then all of a sudden, it comes out a year later and it isn’t necessarily what the band is about anymore. By the time it came out, we weren’t even playing those songs anymore. We really just started off as a group of friends that wanted to learn how to play our instruments and get together on Sundays, and that’s what the first record sounds like to me.”

The four ladies sitting in front of me are hardly on their guard during our interview, and I must admit that their giggles make the “cute” tag (and I am sure it’ll make them squirm as they read this) somewhat applicable. But at the same time, they don’t seem too trusting of media types, as it’s hacks like us that got them into their hot water to begin with.

When I ask them if releasing a second effort and living through the backlash of a publicity storm has galvanized them as a unit and as friends, Smith calls my bluff and quickly pipes up, “So, you’re going for your feelgood quote or something?” The truth is, I was fishing for it, and thankfully Wills grabs the bait. “I wouldn’t change anything we’ve done because some people are going to hate us because we are in a magazine. What are we supposed to do? Turn down publicity? When a lot of people started hating us because we were getting publicity, I did feel a little uncomfortable going out to bars, and Pony Up! did start playing less shows because we did feel a little overexposed. It was kind of getting ridiculous. I mean, I was actually getting hate mail. I think that really helped us, though, as a band. I have been in this band for four years now. If I were in a relationship with one single human being without any questions about faith, doubt or lack of trust over four years, I would get that person to marry me. I get that in this band, but unfortunately I can’t marry all of my band.”

And there you have it folks, your feelgood quote.

CD launch with bold saber at Club Lambi
on Thursday, May 11, 9 p.m., $10

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