| The Known Universe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1996 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 78:17 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | John Curley | |||
| Ass Ponys chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Known Universe is the fourth studio album by Cincinnati-based indie rock band Ass Ponys, released in April 1996 on A&M Records. It was the band's second album for A&M (after 1994's Electric Rock Music ), and was produced by the Afghan Whigs' John Curley. [1]
The Known Universe received favorable reviews from Spin , Rolling Stone , and Details upon its release. [2] Trouser Press ' Vickie Gilmer, however, was less favorable, writing of the album that "Sounding like slapdash country kin of the Barenaked Ladies, the Ass Ponys retread familiar soil, relying on exhausted film jokes ("God Tells Me To") and mild outrage ("Cancer Show"), all the while belaboring clichés like "I could rule the world if..." (a self-mocking line Tin Huey used to better effect fifteen years earlier) and real-life oddities like the oft-derided "Satin lives in hell" graffiti." [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Chicago Tribune | [4] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A– [6] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| Spin | 7/10 [8] |
All songs written by Bill Alletzhauser, Randy Cheek, Chuck Cleaver, and David Morrison, except where noted.
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