Lohio

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Ass Ponys were local heroes in their native Cincinnati and then one-hit wonders with the 1995 alt-rock radio smash "Little Bastard." But with Lohio and its predecessor, Some Stupid with a Flare Gun, the group solidified its standing as a first-rate purveyor of smart roots rock played with heart and a goofy grin. Like Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Ponys singer and songwriter Chuck Cleaver has a pinched tone and a penchant for telling weird tales. On Lohio he sings with equal passion about old TV shows and morphine fixes, dead babies and forgotten crushes. Confessional songwriting may be increasingly dominated by smirking ironists and self-serious sad sacks, but thankfully, Ass Ponys never got the memo. --Anders Smith Lindall

Lohio
Average customer rating:

their best yet

Tremendous

Depression never sounded so good.

Depression never sounded so good.

Midwestern Misery

Lohio
Ass Ponys
Manufacturer: Checkered Past
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00005JDCS
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Tracks:

Last Night It Snowed
Kung Fu Reference
Donald Sutherland
Black Dot
Dried Up
Only
Fire In The Hole
(Baby) I Love You (Baby)
Calendar Days
Baby In A Jar
Dollar A Day
Butterfly
Nothing Starts Today
Bonus Track

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Ass Ponys were local heroes in their native Cincinnati and then one-hit wonders with the 1995 alt-rock radio smash "Little Bastard." But with Lohio and its predecessor, Some Stupid with a Flare Gun, the group solidified its standing as a first-rate purveyor of smart roots rock played with heart and a goofy grin. Like Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Ponys singer and songwriter Chuck Cleaver has a pinched tone and a penchant for telling weird tales. On Lohio he sings with equal passion about old TV shows and morphine fixes, dead babies and forgotten crushes. Confessional songwriting may be increasingly dominated by smirking ironists and self-serious sad sacks, but thankfully, Ass Ponys never got the memo. --Anders Smith Lindall

Customer Reviews:

their best yet.......2004-04-20

If you purchase only one Ass Ponys record, make it this one. Chuck Cleaver's much-mellowed vocals and excellent writing should win some new fans while still pleasing the die-hards. Expertly played and beautifully recorded, Lohio paints a more cohesive picture than previous releases. From start to finish, it utilizes the rural midwestern landscape as a backdrop for its carefully crafted vignettes. From first snow to late summer longing, the focus glides from one memory to the next until they start to feel remarkably like your own.

More urbane critics like to describe (read: dismiss) the subject matter as "quirky", "dark", "wacky"...i.e. too fantastic, too homespun, too whatever... But maybe I should cut them some slack... Maybe they never grew up in the middle of nowhere, and so Cleaver's personal recollections probably do sound more like fairy tales.

But I don't know... Sweetness, regret, morphine, Jesus. Sounds like a typical day to me. Told with just the right amount of sincerity and humor by four guys who get the joke.

Tremendous.......2003-08-09

Great production, fantastic songwriting, terrific variety of songs, excellent musicianship by the band. This is by far the Ass Ponys best, did they really have it in 'em all this time, to be this good?!? I agree with a previous reviewer, though - shame about the cover. When I listen to it in my cube at work, I always make sure I have the back of the CD case facing up. Buy it for the music!

Depression never sounded so good........2003-06-08

What a wonderful album. The Ass Ponys prove once again that while they aren't afraid of the dark, they don't mind a little sunlight too. "Lohio" burns with lazy summer-day regret, as song after song peels away another layer of depression - the alone-on-Friday-night malaise of "Kung Fu Reference," the aching nostalgia of "Dried Up" and "Calendar Days," the sad sad descent into hospice morphine addiction of "I Love You." But the Ponys tackle their subjects with clear-eyed honesty and humor, and song after song comes alive with exuberance and poignancy.

It sounds great, too. The Ponys write with incredible economy (their favorite progression is I-IV), which allows them to have all kinds of fun with goofy arrangements and offbeat instrumentation. They haven't forgotten how to rock hard, either - check out "Last Night it Snowed," the song Wilco has been trying to write for years. But it's their tender and wise take on depression that keeps me coming back to "Lohio." When you're having one of those days where you wake up and just know nothing's going to happen, play the Ass Ponys. It's good to know they're out there, and they're on your side.

Depression never sounded so good........2003-06-08

Midwestern Misery.......2002-08-21