Rating: 
These days there seems to be a real abundance in lo-fi, dream and twee pop. In recent years, the indie world has witnessed and transitioned into a world filled with that of these genres, but with the overwhelming growth of the shoe-gaze movement, how does a fan sift through the vast amount of music and find the bands that do it right? What makes a lo-fi band stand out against the masses?
Seapony stands out in the overwhelmingly bright and sunny nature of their pop tunes as well as the ever-apparent guitar hooks that are featured throughout the music. A little over a year ago, they introduced you to their take on dream pop with Go With Me, which seemed to fit perfectly into the summery bedroom listening category. On this sophomore release, lead vocalist Jen Weidl and company are back with more cheery guitar riffs and jangly percussion to dance to. Up first is “Outside,†that throws listeners into the swing of things right from the start. Weidl’s sugary vocals are a distorted, making them a bit heavier on this song than on the majority of the other songs that can be found on this album. The guitars jangle along with these gritty vocals, while the drums punch in the background. It’s not the fastest of songs, but it certainly gives you a taste of what Seapony is all about.
There isn’t much to complain about on Falling. The songs work together well so as to avoid repetition and banality, but there are also standouts to be found in this mix. Such a noticeably grand number is “Follow,†which relies on the dreamy and ever feminine voice of Weidl and the glorious focus on the guitar riff. It’s a song that sounds so blissful that you can practically feel a cool breeze on your face. An equally beautiful song comes on the single for this album, “Prove to Me.†As opposed to “Follow,†the guitar is set further back into the other instrumentation and the vocals so that it blends in, but is also able to float to the surface and become the center of the song in places.
My only qualm with this record is that it is perhaps a little too sunny, if that’s possible. It feels like Falling should maybe have been released a few months ago, when the weather was heating up and not cooling down. But it’s still quite hot here in ATX, so soak up this radiance before the leaves start to change and the wind blows cold.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Seapony_ProveToMe.mp3]
Download:Seapony – Prove To Me [MP3]
Falling is out now via Hardly Art.Â
Versailles, the ambitious and aptly titled EP of Austin new comer Bells and Parks, strives to create the detailed soundscapes and layers reflective of their self appointed Baroque/Dream Pop genre. A follow up to to the March 13th single “Streams”, Versailles is executed with the focus that was missing from the group’s freshmen effort. While “Streams” sounds like the excited songwriting effort of a new Micro-Korg owner, Versailles is more contained and thought out, with mature use of synth layers to inform the songwriter’s vision rather than overwhelm it.
