Seapony

"The music of Seapony is refreshing in its simplicity. Most songs on Go With Me
use no more than three chords, with an average running time around
two-and-a-half minutes. In lieu of a human drummer, the Seattle trio
entrusts time-keeping to a vintage gizmo the size of a desktop
calculator. The lyrics to "Dreaming," the track that catapulted them
into the spotlight, are just six lines long. Like Young Marble Giants
and Beat Happening before them, this young three-piece has generated
excitement that belies their music's modest means. And their back story
is just as no-nonsense.
Seapony is songwriter Danny Rowland, singer Jen Weidl, and bass
player Ian Brewer. Danny and Ian grew up and made music together in
Oklahoma. In 2001, they moved to Olympia, WA. In 2004, Danny visited
Cincinnati, missed his flight home, and ended up staying in Ohio for
four years; he met Jen during his Buckeye State sojourn. After a period
of work and study in Lawrence, KS, the happy couple came west in 2010
and were reunited with Ian in Seattle. Seapony was born.
Although Danny has composed many originals over the years, "Dreaming"
was the only finished Seapony tune when he and Jen arrived in the
Emerald City; the rest of the songs featured on Go With Me were
written afterward. Likewise, the friends had only played as a trio once
before, while Danny and Jen were vacationing in Seattle. "We were all
messing around with an acoustic guitar, a glockenspiel, and an
Omnichord," Danny recalls. The vision for Seapony was more focused:
Fuzz-drenched guitar playing simple chord progressions, topped with
concise melodic hooks and Jen's breathy vocals.
Other bands make a fuss about coloring outside the lines, but Seapony
aspires to the reverse, making each ditty distinctive while operating
within the same basic sonic framework. The dreamy "Nobody Knows," for
instance, emerged from attempts to distribute melodic materials between
different instruments, with more prominent bass and a subtler type of
guitar lick. If the character of a song seems more upbeat, Danny may
adopt a darker tone for the lyrics, as on "I Really Do." Regardless, he
wants other people to be able to relate to what he writes, which is why
his words are few and his topics familiar.
"You can sing about being sad and being in love, or you can sing
about the weather," he says, apropos of his subject matter and
connecting with listeners. For now, at least, Danny is sticking to the
former. He writes the songs for Jen because he thinks her voice shimmers
amidst all that distortion, whereas his just sounds rotten. Although
he's credited as the primary songwriter, Danny admits that he solicits
Jen's opinion throughout his creative process, from initial approval of
melodic ideas to experimenting with turns of phrase together. 
Ironically, Danny's introduction to both Ian and Jen resulted from
answering ads seeking drummers. That's right: Danny is a drummer who
leads a group with no drums. "Drums are too loud," he insists. "Plus I
don't like the sound of the crash. It can get in the way." Drum machines
are another story. In high school, Danny began experimenting with a
classmate's Roland 808. "He didn't know how to operate it, and thought
it was broken. I figured it out and showed it to him. Then he wanted it
back." Seapony relies on a vintage Alesis HR-16, which Jen bought Danny
for his birthday three years ago.
The band's ascent has been almost absurd in its rapidity. After
posting a handful of demos (including "Dreaming") on the Internet in
late 2010, UK label Double Denim latched on to Seapony and released a
7-inch single in a limited edition of 300 copies. In a matter of weeks,
the band was favorably reviewed on Pitchfork, played on KEXP 90.3 FM
Seattle, and made its live club debut. In short order, they were invited
to appear on bills with La Sera, the Love Language, Kisses, and Pains
of Being Pure At Heart.
Having written and recorded Go With Me at home, even as they
got settled into a city where they had virtually no friends—let alone
extensive ties to the local music scene—Seapony is still finding its
comfort zone onstage. Don't mistake the absence of stage banter for lack
of enthusiasm or appreciation, Danny emphasizes. "The Velvet
Underground didn't talk," he observes. "It's cooler to just play song
after song, like the Ramones did." Exactly. Keep it simple, and there's
no telling how much impact the music can make."http://hardlyart.com/seapony.html