Lohio
The Ass Ponys
byAlex Vagelatos

Straight outta Cincy, The Ass Ponys are America’s best-unknown rootsy band. Songwriter Chuck Cleaver and Co. have been toiling away in relative obscurity for years, making suprisingly few waves in their impressive career. Although they debuted with the solid Mr. Superlove in 1990, it wasn’t until 94’s Electric Rock Music that the band garnered much attention via hipster critics and a major label’s bankroll. Even then the Ponys were forced to the sidelines by better looking bands with considerably less talent, something FM Program Directors should be ashamed of to this day.

Apparently Cleaver’s charmingly whiny voice wasn’t suave enough for kids that were busy gobbling up classics (read: sarcasm) by shlubs like Third Eye Blind and No Doubt. The Ass Ponys were too real, too grim and too good for a generation accustomed to having dumbed-down melodies and banal lyrics shoved down their collective throat. The Ass Ponys continued on, however, and have treated those “in the know” with a handful of tremendous albums that remain largely unheard. Hopefully all of that will change with the release of Lohio, arguably the band’s best effort.

Lohio shows off Cleaver’s clever songwriting magnificently. His country-tinged flavor gets mixed up nicely with down home rock n’ roll in a stew fit for a backyard BBQ. When he hits the sweet spots (“Last Night It Snowed,” “Baby I Love You Baby,” and “Nothing Starts Today”), he commands your full attention, but when he lets loose and rocks (like on the excellent “Kung Fu Reference”), it’s easy to get lost in the pulse of the music.

The Ass Ponys aren’t the kind of band that feel like they need to pound their listeners over the head to get their attention. Instead, they grab you with remarkable playing and intelligent, witty lyrics. “Donald Sutherland,” the album’s highlight, is a prime example of an incredibly focused Ass Ponys. Randy Cheek and Dave Morrison give the song a delicate, yet prominent bottom end, while Bill Alletzhauser twiddles around on lead guitar for a wonderful sonic balancing act. Despite their ill-chosen name, The Ass Ponys are a group of serious, weathered musicians. Lohio is a great testament to the band as a working unit.

Like all great bands, The Ass Ponys bring plenty of substance to weigh down their excessive style. Here it’s found mainly in Cleaver’s impossibly fun lyrics, whimsical prose for quasi-educated world weary souls. There isn’t anything as outlandish as Some Stupid With A Flare Gun’s “X-tra Nipple,” but there are plenty of tasty ideas and wordplays on Lohio. “Butterfly,” for example, gives an apt description of the common working class procrastinator. “Hey man you wanna jump a canyon on a rocket powered motor bike / Instead I bet you’re gonna add it to a list of things you never tried / ‘coz you’re a fifth wheel, a fourth class third string second rate kind of guy / and sometimes you feel like a pot lick limp dick butterfly.” It’s this type of unique wordplay that take the Ass Ponys to another level, and it’s found in abundance on Lohio. Check it out at www.checkeredpast.com.