''Electric Rock Music'' is the third album, and major-label debut, by

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

-based rock band

Ass Ponys Ass Ponys was an indie rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their sound combines rock and country into an off-kilter blend of Americana music. They have gone on national tours with bands such as Pavement, Throwing Muses, and Possum Dixon. Amon ...

. It was released in 1994 on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. It was produced by

John Curley John Curley is a Professor, Distinguished Professional in Residence, and Co-Director of the Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State. He was head of Gannett News Service, during which time the news service won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Serv ...

the Afghan Whigs The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John Cur ...

, at whose Ultrasuede Studio the album was recorded. The band was planning to self-release the album after they recorded it, but then they landed an unexpected deal with A&M when Jeff Suhy, one of the label's representatives, called the band's frontman,

Chuck Cleaver Charles James Cleaver is an American songwriter, singer and guitarist, best known as a member of the Cincinnati-based bands Ass Ponys (formed in 1988, went on hiatus in 2005) and Wussy (formed in 2001). Biography Cleaver grew up in Clarksville, ...

on the phone. Suhy told Cleaver that he had pitched a recording of the album to A&M executives, and that they had approved it for release.

Critical reception

Ted Simons of the ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...

'' described ''Electric Rock Music'' as "an engaging collection of episodes and observations put to song." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''s Rick Reger described the album as "excellent", and as far better as a whole than its well-known single, "Little Bastard." In contrast, ''

the Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''s Mark Jenkins wrote that "Most of the album's songs are crisp and shapely, though there's no other track that's so exuberantly tuneful s "Little Bastard"" Jason Cohen of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' wrote that "with ''Electric Rock Music'', the band has made the album of its life." Also in ''Spin'', Jay Stowe called the album a "bright, shining light."

Track listing

# Grim – 4:31 # Little Bastard – 2:42 # Ape Hanger – 3:22 # Place Out There – 2:58 # Lake Brenda – 3:40 # Wall Eyed Girl – 2:48 # Peanut 93 – 2:40 # Live Until I Die – 3:11 # Banlon Shirt – 5:20 # Gypped – 2:18 # Blushing Bride – 2:11 # Earth To Grandma – 2:52 # Otter Slide – 3:46

Personnel

*Ass Ponys – primary artist, producer *Randy Cheek – bass, background vocals *Chuck Cleaver – guitar, vocals *John Curley – engineer, producer *John Erhardt – guitar,

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

*Steve Girton – engineer *David Morrison – drums, organ *Sunja Park – art direction *Alan Yoshida – mastering

References

{{Authority control Ass Ponys albums A&M Records albums 1994 albums