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The Guardian

The album is a satisfying hodge-podge of guitar noises, as they doff their caps to shoegaze, garage, prog, punk, post-punk, baggy and pop throughout their musical tourist-trip.

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Slant Magazine

Three records into their career, The Ponys still sound like a really young band. And I can't be more complimentary than that.

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New Musical Express

It's a pounding alt-rock dynamo with its head sunk in Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr rarities.

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Mojo

12 knockout tunes soaked in feedback and melody. [Apr 2007, p.96]

All Music Guide

Turn the Lights Out is the most mature and technically accomplished album the Ponys have made to date, but it doesn't lack the excitement and edge of the fine music that preceded it.

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Filter

While Turn the Lights Out may be missing some of their past piss 'n' vinegar... the love of good ol' fashioned guitar rock is still their calling card. [#24, p.94]

Pitchfork

The Ponys make good records, and Turn the Lights Out is no exception, but I'm still waiting on the great one I've always felt they'd had in them.

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The Phoenix

It’s more polished and sonically ambitious. But it’s not a major departure.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

They still sound like imitators, but they're imitators moving toward a place they can call their own.

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Prefix Magazine

Even if almost every song here sounds like something someone else has already done, there's still originality to be found.

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Spin

John Agnello's knob-twiddling is spot-on. [Mar 2007, p.98]

Uncut

Historically confused it may be, but the simple pleasures of Turn The Lights Out are hard to deny. [Apr 2007, p.115]

Under The Radar

The Ponys continue to revel in the two-guitar rock song, naturally, but they step out stylistically. [#17, p.92]

Austin Chronicle

Maturity has doomed too many bands to mention over the years, but this ain't one.

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Dusted Magazine

There’s not a lot behind the well-polished surfaces.

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Hartford Courant

Much of "Turn the Lights Off" is inspired by '80s artists who wanted to sound like they were from the '60s.

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Playlouder

The Ponys are the band Black Rebel Motorcycle tried so desperately hard to be.

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Rolling Stone

[It] takes an echoed-up tack that's more Sonic Youth than Voidoids.

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Drowned In Sound

There's a profound lack of any surprises, anything you might not expect, any... inspiration.

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Blender

Gummere’s voice is no one’s idea of pretty, and his lyrics are sometimes hard to decipher over the squall. But they’re both secondary to the nose-bloodying sonic punch.

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Stylus Magazine

Turn the Light Out scales everything back—the drums, the guitars, the vocals—leaving us with a clean-cut, grown-up Ponys, trying to get comfortable in their own skin when they were just fine in someone else’s.

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Village Voice

[The album] s clogged with reverb-choked guitar riffs too woozy to propel the garage rock they ought to carry.

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Q Magazine

More often than not, The Ponys end up stranded in a morass of pointless guitar static. [Apr 2007, p.121]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sam H gave it a7:
This is a good record, but they need to progress their sound a little more. The raw guitar static was sweet and fresh on their debut, but The Ponys have yet to do anything far out of the ordinary. But, these are still some damn good songs, especially "Double Vision" and the last track, which rocks harder than most people should be allowed!!!

JonViaChicago gave it a9:
This is a really strong return to form after the slightly disappointing Celebration Castle. I have to admit that I still do miss Ian's contributions, but this still stands as a great album. Am I the only one that gets a recent-ish Sonic Youth vibe on a couple of these tracks?

Beau N gave it a10:
The Pony's have once again released another great album which the general public will ignore completely. In a way I'm kind of glad. After all they're my band, not yours.

Ethan S gave it a9:
The Ponys have released the most exciting, consistent punk album of the year, and have transcended their influences to create a unique sound putting them with the Smashings Pumpkins and the Big Black among Chicago's alt-rock greats

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Turn The Lights Out

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