Pony Express Record

1994 studio album by Shudder to Think
Pony Express Record
Studio album by
Shudder to Think
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1994 (1994-09-13)
Recorded1993[1]
Studio
  • Oz Studios, Baltimore
Genre
  • Post-hardcore[2]
  • math rock
  • alternative rock
  • noise rock
Length53:50
LabelEpic
ProducerTed Niceley
Shudder to Think chronology
Get Your Goat
(1992) 		Pony Express Record
(1994) 		50,000 B.C.
(1997)
Singles from Pony Express Record
  1. "Hit Liquor[3]"
    Released: 1994
  2. "X-French Tee Shirt[4]"
    Released: 1994
  3. "So Into You[5]"
    Released: 1995

Pony Express Record is the fifth studio album by American post-hardcore band Shudder to Think, released in 1994 by Epic Records. It was the first album of the band to feature guitarist Nathan Larson and drummer Adam Wade, after the departure of founding members Chris Matthews and Mike Russell. The album saw the band attempting to craft a unique sound. According to Wade, "high up on our agenda it was like, 'No matter what, we cannot sound like anybody else.' We didn’t want to be Fugazi or Soundgarden—though those influences were there."[6] Larson recalls of the album: "We definitely made our strangest record to date. We really did want to have a pop hit, but we made a really weird record. Get Your Goat is brighter and poppier. Pony Express is velvety and dark".[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Boston Phoenix[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography7/10[11]
Kerrang![12]
MusicHound Rockwoof![13]
Q[14]

Pony Express Record has received considerable critical acclaim. Greg Prato of AllMusic retrospectively regarded it as "one of the most underrated rock records of the '90s".[8] In 2003, Stylus Magazine writer Deen Freelon wrote that the album was "a jaw-dropping, head-scratching masterpiece back in '94 and remains so today".[15]

Pitchfork placed the album at number 29 on its original 1999 list of the top 100 albums of the 1990s.[16]

Magnet wrote: "Even as the alt-rock market got saturated in the mid-'90s ... there were still some surprises in store. Shudder To Think was one of the oddest major-label signings of the decade, partnering with Epic for 1994's Pony Express Record." They describe the band as "a mix of avant-garde punk, glam and Queen-y arena rock."[17] The A.V. Club's Marc Hawthrone similarly writes: "One of the weirdest major-label signings during the indie feeding frenzy of the ’90s—leaping from the punker-than-punk Dischord, no less—Shudder To Think never really fit into any easily recognizable category, acting too pop to be punk, too post-punk to be pop, and just too strange to have any hits."[18]

In 2017, Treble included Pony Express Record in their list of "10 Weird Major Label Debuts"[19] They added that the group's signing with Epic could be considered an effect of the "signing frenzy" that followed Nirvana's rise to fame, they also deemed Shudder to Think to be Epic's equivalent of signing fellow post-hardcore band Fugazi. Terich said "when they made the majors, they were no longer an art-punk band, but rather an art band, with a side of punk. ... This is a brilliant album, and an underrated gem of the '90s. It's also the last thing you’d think a label looking for the next Nirvana would've asked for."[19] Elsewhere, Terich considered it "not only an unusual album for what's ostensibly presented as mainstream-friendly alternative rock, it's an unusual album by any measure."[20]

Brian Stout of PopMatters writes: "Pony Express Record is one of the most enduring releases of the 1990s, evergreen for the very reasons it wasn’t a massive hit upon release."[7] While considering the album to perfect the group's blend of punk, glam and new wave, Stout adds that it is "also a challenging record, filled with riffs that stop and start and lyrics filled with compelling images that are sinister at times and hilarious at others".[7] Peter Gaston of Spin describes Pony Express Record as "a polarizing Rubik's Cube of a major-label debut that becomes, for those who ultimately learn to love it, the best record ever made. While the band's cocktail of tricky time changes, aggressive guitar bursts, and Craig Wedren’s effeminate falsetto proved inaccessible for the mainstream, many musicians found it utterly compelling". He lists Deftones, Incubus, Cursive, the Forms and the Dead Science as five bands influenced by the album.[21]

Pitchfork's Tyler Grisham opines that the album "pushed the boundaries of mid-1990s indie rock in new and exhilarating directions."[22] In his AllMusic review, Prato writes that despite its superior sound and production over earlier releases, Pony Express Records was not a "sellout", stating that the record "challenges the listener in many ways: stop/start riffing ('X-French Tee Shirt'), oblique lyrics ('Earthquakes Come Home'), often dramatic, Freddie Mercury-like vocals ('Gang of $'), and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink song structures ('No Rm. 9, Kentucky'). The music is consistently unpredictable, mixing jazz, metal, art rock, folk, experimental, and alternative in the band's melting pot. And all of the songs boast strong melodies".[23]

Track listing

All songs written by Craig Wedren, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hit Liquor" 4:08
2."Gang of $"Wedren, Nathan Larson3:45
3."9 Fingers on You" 2:41
4."Sweet Year Old"Larson4:52
5."Earthquakes Come Home" 3:44
6."Kissi Penny" 3:06
7."X-French Tee Shirt" 4:06
8."No RM. 9, Kentucky"Wedren, Larson5:34
9."Chakka"Wedren, Larson4:47
10."Own Me"Larson4:48
11."So Into You (Atlanta Rhythm Section cover)"Buddy Buie, Dean Daughtry, Robert Nix3:43
12."Trackstar" 6:47
13."Full Body Anchor" 1:50
Total length:53:50
PonyExpressRecord.com exclusive MP3s
  1. "Little by Little (vox)"
  2. "Little by Little (no vox)"
  3. "Circus Metal (PXR demo)"
  4. "Kissi Penny (PXR demo)"
  5. "Gang of $ (PXR demo)"
  6. "X-French Tee Shirt (PXR demo)"

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.

Band
  • Craig Wedren – lead vocals, guitar
  • Nathan Larson – guitar
  • Stuart Hill – bass
  • Adam Wade – drums

Production

  • Ted Niceley – production
  • Andy Wallace – mixing
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Michael Rippe – assistant engineer
  • Steve Palmieri – engineer
  • Steve Cisco – engineer (mix)
  • Will Weems – artwork, photography

References

  1. ^ https://www.facebook.com/shuddertothinkofficial/posts/oz-studios-baltimore-md-1993/910017035759332/ [user-generated source]
  2. ^ Jeff Terich. August 30, 2012. 10 Essential ’90s Post-Hardcore Albums. treblezine.com
  3. ^ "Shudder To Think – Hit Liquor". Discogs. 1994.
  4. ^ "Shudder To Think – X-French Tee Shirt / Shake Your Halo Down". Discogs. 22 November 1994.
  5. ^ "Shudder To Think – So Into You". Discogs. 1995.
  6. ^ Jarnstrom, David (September 25, 2014). "Encore: Adam Wade On Shudder To Think's Pony Express Record". Modern Drummer. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Stout, Brian (May 1, 2024). "Shudder to Think Look Back on 1994's 'Pony Express Record'". PopMatters. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Pony Express Record – Shudder to Think". AllMusic. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Ashare, Matt (September 23, 1994). "Off The Record". The Boston Phoenix. 23 (38): 44. Retrieved February 6, 2023 – via WayBack Machine.
  10. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE Inc. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  11. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1999). The great alternative & indie discography. Canongate. ISBN 9780862419134.
  12. ^ Goldstein, Gordon (September 24, 1994). "Albumz". Kerrang!. No. 513. EMAP. p. 43.
  13. ^ Prickett, Barry (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 1012 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ "Shudder to Think: Pony Express Record". Q. No. 99. December 1994. p. 143.
  15. ^ Freelon, Deen (September 1, 2003). "Shudder to Think – Pony Express Record – On Second Thought". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the '90s". Pitchfork. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 14, 2000. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  17. ^ "120 Reasons to Live: Shudder to Think". May 25, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  18. ^ Hawthrone, Marc (September 15, 2009). "Shudder To Think: Live From Home". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Terich, Jeff (February 16, 2017). "10 Weird Major Label Debuts". Treblezine. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Terich, Jeff (February 12, 2018). "Shudder To Think created their own structures on Pony Express Record". Treble Zine. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Gaston, Peter (October 3, 2008). "Listen: Five Bands Inspired by Shudder to Think". Spin. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  22. ^ Grisham, Tyler (September 15, 2008). "Shudder to Think". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Prato, Greg. "Pony Express Record Review by Greg Prato". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
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