Pitchfork

Matador has gone on a signing spree over the past few months, snapping up two groups of whippersnappers over the past couple months: Chicago's Ponys and Melbourne, Australia's Love of Diagrams. The Ponys' first two albums, 2004's Laced With Romance and 2005's Celebration Castle, were released on the garage rock powerhouse In the Red, and Pitchfork is quite fond of both.

Pitchfork spoke to head Pony Jered Gummere about the signing. "We just started talking to them [Matador] and...I don't know. That was the best option out there so I definitely wanted to, you know, proceed with it. We've been big fans of the label for a while, so [it was a] pretty easy decision to make." As for In the Red, the band remains "really good friends" with the label.

The Ponys plan to record their new album at

Chicago's Electrical Audio this month, and then mix it in New York City. The record should be out in early 2007.

Gummere's other band, Hot Machines, who you might remember from their scorching set at the Pitchfork Music Festival, don't plan on being too active in the coming months. The trio, which also includes Miss Alex White and Matt Williams of the Baseball Furies, don't have any shows planned at the moment, but a live album is in the works on the Dusty Medical label.

Love of Diagrams are a trio who have put out an album (2003's The Target Is You) and an EP (2005's We Got Communication) on Australia's Unstable Ape Records. They have a self-titled EP due out on that same label on September 18. The six-track EP features two tracks from their forthcoming album, recorded in late 2005 and early 2006 at Electrical Audio with Bob Weston, as well as two outtakes from the same sessions, and two live tracks, including a cover of "Cool" by the sadly underrated early 80s Athens, Georgia band Pylon. Matador has tentative plans to re-release that same EP (minus one live track and one outtake) in January, and the full-length in March.