Instantly recognisable and very lovable, this dreamy LP is a definite summer soundtrack.
Instantly recognisable and very lovable, this dreamy LP is a definite summer soundtrack.
Haven’t heard of Seapony yet? They are a three piece, fronted by gorgeous brunet Jen Weidl, making ethereal 50s/60s inspired indie pop with a lo-fi edge. Yawning yet? It’s not like we haven’t seen enough of “all that”, what with bands like Tennis and Best Coast, who made female vocalists and retro surf-sounds flavour of the last twelve months or so. Still, cynicism aside, (and yes, I can see them being accused of being “on-trend”) I’ll wager that if you don’t love Go With Me, you must have a heart of stone.
It’s hard not to fall in love with the sun-drenched sounds of tracks like I Never Would, or Go Away, which have all the laid-back optimism of a lazy summer afternoon. Then there’s the driving energy of Into the Sea, which instantly makes your foot tap with its retro rhythms and catchy riffs.
Comparisons to the Phil Spector sound are inevitable – check out the definite ’60s drum beat on the final track With You – but there’s a lot more to this lot. Their lo-fi guitar riffs, as heard in So Low, are incredibly reminiscent of Pavement and other ’90s bands, a fact which tempers what could otherwise be an overly saccharine album. In fact, the melancholic strains of What You See, sounds so much like mid-nineties mellow rock that it could almost be the soundtrack to an overly emotional montage on Friends.
It’s this mixture of familiar sounds from various eras and sunny optimism tinged with a slight melancholy that makes Danny Rowland’s song writing such fantastic pop music. Instantly recognisable and very lovable, this dreamy LP is a definite summer soundtrack.