> Switch to Advanced Search

New & Current Releases
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

60 31Knots
71 The Academy Is...
68 Adele
67 The Airborne Toxic Event
70 Alkaline Trio
77 Theresa Andersson
74 Apollo Sunshine
43 The Automatic
79 Joan Baez
84 Bajofondo
56 David Banner
76 The Baseball Project
77 Beck
77 Black Affair
59 Black Ghosts
76 Black Kids
73 Brazilian Girls
90 The Bug
58 Caesars
80 Calexico
70 Glen Campbell
74 Brendan Canning
69 The Charlatans
76 The Chemical Brothers
72 Coldplay
65 Alice Cooper
77 Rodney Crowell
65 CSS
67 Miley Cyrus
44 Dandy Warhols
81 Danny!
68 Kimya Dawson
74 Death Vessel
75 Delta Spirit
79 Damien Dempsey
58 Dirty Pretty Things
72 Dr. Dog
80 DragonForce
78 The Duhks
75 Jakob Dylan
77 Earlimart
77 Brian Eno + David Byrne
83 Alejandro Escovedo
62 The Faint
56 Feeder
65 The Fiery Furnaces
64 iForward, Russia!
61 The Fratellis
68 Fujiya & Miyagi
59 G Love & Special Sauce
65 The Game
74 Inara George With Van Dyke Parks
74 Giant Sand
79 Girl Talk
61 Golden Animals
64 Mike Gordon
42 G-Unit
63 Gym Class Heroes
78 GZA
64 Albert Hammond, Jr.
78 Emmylou Harris
73 Juliana Hatfield
61 Hawthorne Heights
86 Hercules And Love Affair
82 High Places
76 Zach Hill
85 The Hold Steady
63 Vanessa Hudgens
71 Human Highway
77 James Hunter
68 Ice Cube
66 Ida Maria
70 Jaguar Love
76 Joan As Police Woman
81 Jamey Johnson
70 Jonas Brothers
59 Judas Priest
57 Kerli
72 Leila
76 Lykke Li
82 Lil Wayne
82 Lindstrom
72 Little Jackie
60 Lloyd
55 Los Lonely Boys
74 Love As Laughter
85 Patty Loveless
80 Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
76 John Mellencamp
71 The Melvins
71 Men Without Pants
79 Metallica
74 Mirah
63 Alanis Morissette
56 Motley Crue
72 Motorhead
78 Nico Muhly
84 The Music Tapes
54 The Music
71 My Brightest Diamond
70 My Morning Jacket
63 N.E.R.D. [The Neptunes]
71 Nas
79 Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis
51 New Kids On The Block
85 Randy Newman
78 Nine Inch Nails
75 The Notwist
75 Conor Oberst
52 The Offspring
79 Okkervil River
80 One Day As A Lion
75 Oneida
62 The Orb
75 Oxford Collapse
89 Aaron Parks
42 Katy Perry
74 Lee "Scratch" Perry
72 Plies
73 Robert Pollard
81 Ponytail
64 Primal Scream
78 Ra Ra Riot
48 The Rascals
71 Ratatat
63 Re-Up Gang
71 The Rumble Strips
65 RZA
73 Scars On Broadway
70 Ron Sexsmith
39 Shwayze
81 Sigur Rós
78 Silver Jews
58 Jessica Simpson
70 Slipknot
74 Sloan
79 Patti Smith and Kevin Shields
73 Solange
69 Son, Ambulance
63 Sam Sparro
65 Rick Springfield
65 Staind
47 Stereo MC's
72 Stereolab
71 The Stills
71 The Subways
83 Sugarland
67 Supergrass
67 Matthew Sweet
77 Irma Thomas
84 Teddy Thompson
57 Three 6 Mafia
73 Tilly And The Wall
72 Tittsworth
63 James Jackson Toth
72 Randy Travis
69 Tricky
92 Underoath
58 UNKLE
58 David Vandervelde
71 The Verve
69 Loudon Wainwright III
77 Martha Wainwright
81 The Walkmen
67 The Watson Twins
67 Ben Weaver
81 The Week That Was
77 Paul Weller
76 White Denim
70 Brian Wilson
79 Cassandra Wilson
87 Dennis Wilson
77 Wire
78 Wolf Parade
61 XX Teens
71 Young Jeezy
55 Yung Berg

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Ice Cream Spiritual
by Ponytail


6.3

based on 14 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Official Artist Site

The third full-length for the quartet from Baltimore was produced by J Robbins.

LABEL:	We Are Free
RELEASE DATE:	17 June 2008
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rock, Indie, Pop

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Pitchfork

With J Robbins producing and the vastly improved sonics, you have a much clearer idea of what everyone is doing. Little things are important with this band, and here, you can actually make them out.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Ponytail has rendered Ice Cream Spiritual insidiously infectious--and bursting with an oddly tuneful virtuosity that aches to share rather than show off.

No Ripcord

This is the band’s second album after their somewhat missed "Kamehamena," and their pounce only proves to reinstill the style of the album’s predecessor.

All Music Guide

At times, the album's extended jams get a bit wearing, but Ice Cream Spiritual! shows that Ponytail's music is still equal parts challenging, melodic, and fun.

Paste Magazine

Not recommended for people with heart conditions or pregnant mothers, but for those of you looking for visceral thrills, this is it.

Blender

They go for punk rock at the most physical level, until their rhythms feel almost like a rave, as in the seven-minute 'Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel).'

Uncut

Even when they slow up, the quality doesn't let up. [Sep 2008, p.100]

Hot Press

Lovably noisy baltimore scallywags come good with their second effort.

cokemachineglow

It is, more than anything else, the sound of a band having too much fun being good to try being great.

Spin

Presided over by Molly Siegel--a fiery young Yoko Ono impersonator--the disc is precocious but never precious, combining a smart, Juno-esque appreciation of old-school punk that steers clear of mere revivalism.

Drowned In Sound

Like an unexpected fist in the face from a five-year-old, Ponytail’s boisterous pop-punk jams are saved from saccharine overkill with some unexpectedly tight hooks, plus a paradoxical, feathery lightness of touch that makes their music feel orgasmically flush even at its churningest and most densely impenetrable.

Tiny Mix Tapes

As they stand with Ice Cream Spiritual, Ponytail have captured an ample document of their instrumental majesty without losing a lick of their live energy.

Under The Radar

Molly Siegel's abstracted vocal acrobatics might not be human, but they melt you all the same. [Summer 2008, p.93]

NOW Magazine

The result is akin to bottling one of their energetic live shows, and it makes for a thrilling, if not altogether bump-free ride.

The average user rating for this album is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jyotirmaya D. gave it an8:
I love the pandemonium on this album... it's for lovers with a wide vision of what punk should sound like. Molly Seigal's primal vocals sound great alongside the two guitars (no bass) and wild drumming... It's all over the place and crazy, but it is tight at the same time.

Oliver C. gave it a7:
Perhaps not quite as good as the reviews, but certainly satisfying for the noise rockers in all of us

Katy A. gave it a0:
Horrible, very overrated.

Andrew J. gave it a7:
At first, the "vocals" put you off, drifting as they do into Yoko Ono territory, but there's just something infectious about it. The entire sound works somehow as an instrumental record--as if the yelps and squeals were just another instrument.

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page

Ice Cream Spiritual by Ponytail

Ice Cream Spiritual
by Ponytail