Seapony: “What You Wanted”
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The Seattle-based trio Seapony is just plain adorable. The band’s name sounds like it might have been ripped from a Lisa Frank notebook. There’s a couple in the band, and they have arty, vintage-y threads. But inside the group’s twee exterior there’s a band that spikes its delightfully bittersweet dream-pop with sharp hits of classic rock ‘n’ roll.
The three folks behind Seapony are Jen Weidl, Danny Rowland and Ian Brewer. The group began in 2010 when the songwriting team–the aforementioned couple–Weidl and Rowland moved to the Pacific Northwest from their native Ohio. Rowland and Brewer (who handles bass duties) went way back as friends and bandmates, so the match was a natural one. That same year, the band released their debut 7″ single “Dreaming” on London’s Double Denim Records. Last year Seapony made the jump to Sub Pop subsidiary Hardly Art to put out their first long-player Go With Me.
Today Seapony release their sophomore full-length Falling. One of the first singles from the new record, “What You Wanted,” just happens to be our song of the day. It’s a simple, but infectious tune built on tight rhythm and zippy guitar hooks. Weidl’s dreamy vocals and, what sounds like, an artfully placed vibraphone temper some the spikier elements, and make for a tune that’s a bit like a chile-chocolate bar, sweet with just a hint of bite.
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