More New Magic from Seapony

Our good friends Seapony, who helped kickstart our awesome SXSW party this last year, are back again with another new track from their forthcoming album, Falling. Hardly Art will again be putting out the record on what is shaping up to be a very huge September 11th release date. It seems like the group is starting to shed a little bit of their traditional hazy guitars in favor of more straight-ahead pop moments, but, that being said, it still completely works for us here at ATH.  We’re still head over heels in love with this band.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Seapony_ProveToMe.mp3]

Download:Seapony – Prove To Me [MP3]

New Jams from Seapony (+ New Album)

We were fortunate enough to have Seapony play at our SXSW party this year, so we’re happy to hear that the band are already about to return with a new record, titled Falling (odd title considering the release date is September 11th).  It will, again, be released by the hard-working folks over at Hardly Art, and I’m really loving this new track.  Jen’s voice sounds really good, but there’s a directness to this track that is quite striking; there’s less of a shoegaze element to the song, though you can still find a bit of the group’s endearing haziness.  I can’t tell you how excited I am for this record.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Seapony_WhatYouWanted.mp3]

Download:Seapony – What You Wanted [MP3]

Show Pics: 2nd St. Showdown @ SxSW 2012 (3/16)

I was a happy kid. Sure, things could have gone a tiny bit smoother with sponsor issues and sound-guy car troubles early, but we pulled together like a community and put on an excellent day of music. Big thanks to all involved, my +1 for bartending early, the bands for helping each other out, whatever it took was whatever it took and the party felt like SxSW of old.

So here are a bounty of pics from the 2nd St. Showdown

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ATH SXSW Show & Sampler (3/16/12)

It’s that time again folks, time for SXSW and another awesome show by yours truly here at ATH.  This year we’re teaming up with our amigos over at local label Sonora Records to bring what is arguably the best SXSW show around.  We’ve got a sweet lineup that’s been worked on behind the scenes for months now with some equally incredible local sponsors.  Here are the deets on the show after the jump.

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Albums Of 2011

We’ve already brought you our songs of the year and Texas albums of the year, so now it’s time for the much anticipated albums of the year list.  I’m sure many of you will notice some big names off the list and you will be ready to plead your case about why we are wrong.  We’ll hear ya out… Feel free to drop us a comment with your own list or just to debate with us.  Follow the jump for list.
50) The New Tigers – s/t

49) Secret Cities – Strange Hearts

48) AM & Shawn Lee – Celestial Electric

47) Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing

46) Blue Skies for Black Hearts – Embracing the Modern Age

45) Geoffrey O’ Connor – Vanity is Forever

44) Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams

43) Destroyer – Kaputt

42) Obits – Moody, Standard and Poor

41) The Rosebuds – Loud Planes Fly Low

40) Tim Cohen – Magic Trick

39) Bad Sports – Kings of the Weekend

38) Chelsea Wolfe – Apokalypsis

37) Chad Van Gaalen – Diaper Island

36) Male Bonding – Nothing Hurts

35) Crystal Stilts – In Love With Oblivion

34) Cold Cave – Cherish the Light Years

33) Devon Williams – Euphoria

32) Okkervil River – I Am Very Far

31) Sonny and the Sunsets – Hit After Hit

30) Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde

29) Wax Idols – No Future

28) Grooms – Prom

27) Cut Off Your Hands – Hollow

26) The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

25) Ducktails – Ducktails III

24) Papercuts – Fading Parade

23) Atlas Sound – Parallax

22) Mind Spiders – s/t

21) Craft Spells – Idle Labor

20) Yuck – s/t

19) The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

18) Comet Gain – Howl of the Lonely Crowd

17) The Drums – Portamento

16) Snowmine – Laminate Pet Animal

15) King Creosote and Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine

14) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong

13) Girls Names – Dead to Me

12) Light for Fire – s/t

11) Other Lives – Tamer Animals

10) Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

9) Iceage – New Brigade

8 The Antlers – Burst Apart

7) Seapony – Go With Me

6) Pure X – Pleasure

5) Cloud Nothings – s/t

4) Real Estate – Days

3) Gold Leaves – The Ornament

2) The Twerps – s/t

1) Wye Oak – Civilian

So that’s it ladies and gents, we are officially putting an end to 2011.  What do you like and what do you not like?  Let’s hear it.

New Single From Seapony

One of my favorite discoveries of the year, Seapony, are prepping a new 7″ single for this sweet new song “Sailing”.  This track comes shortly after the band released their debut LP Go With Me earlier this year on Hardly Art records.  For now we’ve only got a stream for ya so stay tuned and pick up your copy of the new single on November 22nd in your favorite local record store.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Sailing.mp3]

Great Dream Pop from The Notes

It seems we get a lot of surf-pop and dream-pop nowadays with male singers, and I’m definitely okay with that, but I don’t mind having a swinging female voice maneuver in and out of these tracks as well. The Notes, like Seapony, do a great job of doing just that, and this British bunch has just put out their brand new album, Fearless, which you can grab for FREE, if you so choose. The title track’s got a little bit of haze, a little bit of noise, and a slew of pop bubbling beneath it all. Give these guys a chance to win you over this Friday.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/the-notes-Fearless-02-Fearless.mp3]

Download: The Notes – Fearless [MP3]

Seapony – Go With Me

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Jen Weidl and her posse in Seapony definitely have something wonderful going on in their debut for Hardly Art, Go With Me.  After lots of critical acclaim on the net, it would be easy to throw this band aside as just another band making bedroom pop, which they do for the most part.  But, if you can discard similarities to various other bands, you’ll find that lay in wait, waiting to carry you off.

“Dreaming” begins the entire affair with what is probably the most energetic you’ll find the band, and at times, the guitars emulate Mike Sniper and Blank Dogs.  Those pounding drums, twanging guitars, well, they’re all nice and clean, but what will really get you is the pop sensation.  You can forget about comparisons, as Weidl’s voice definitely gives a new spin on things here.

There are easily a lot of tracks on this record that one might identify as ripping off various other acts, or at least being easily influenced, but a special song is a special song, regardless of whether it was made by Seapony or various other bands out there.  “Into the Sea” is one such track, with guitars maneuvering along the sunny coastal region, and the hazy Jen warmly singing atop it all. In all honesty, Weidl is the savior of Go With Me.  She does it again on “Go Away,” which sort of sounds like a cross between Best Coast and Girls Names, but her girl-group approach to vocal delivery, not to mention the nod to such things with her lyrics, makes tracks standout beyond the masses.

There’s tons of comparisons that can be made all over the place when listening to Go With Me.  You might find a Best Coast reference here, or even a Wild Nothing allusion, but what probably sticks out the most is how similar Seapony comes to sounding like a happier version of Blank Dogs.  The recording of the angular guitars in songs like “Always” or “Where We Go” almost plays like a Sniper remix, but perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to dig this record.  Everything sounds familiar, and yet it doesn’t sound familiar at all. Lyrics aren’t typically this adorably put together, and girls usually don’t work well, at least not as of yet/late, in this genre.

Even with all these noticeable nods to the indie landscape of today laced across this album, I’ve found myself spinning it again and again.  Part of me has a soft spot for any music of the ilk, part of me finds some odd connection between Camera Obscura and bedroom pop of the now.  It’s precisely the kind of record you can listen to while swinging your significant other around the living room instead of hitting up the bars. For that alone, Seapony and Go With Me deserve a nice little spot in your collection, not to mention the fact that you can include any number of tracks all across your summer mixes.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/SP_BlueStar.mp3]

Download: Seapony – Blue Star [MP3]

New Tunes from Seapony

This new single from Seapony is by far the best I’ve heard them sound.  Hazy pop vocals are coated over every bouncy bit of this track, and so we’re really happy that our friends over at Hardly Art have picked up the band.  They’ll be putting out Go With Me on May 31st, and after listening to this upbeat gem of a tune, I can’t help but get those tinglinging feelings of joy.  Right now, I feel like I’m taking the emotional aesthetic of Beach House and blending it with some straight twee power-pop.  That’s right, that sounds delicious.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/SP_BlueStar.mp3]

Download: Seapony – Blue Star [MP3]

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