Album Feature – Orville Peck – Pony

By Joshua Wallace

Every once in a while a new artist comes by that has a unique style that catches your eye and makes you pay attention.  Orville Peck is just such an artist. His music is like a cross between indie rock and traditional country put through a spaghetti western filter.  If that isn’t enough to get your attention, wait until you hear his voice. He comes across deep and rich, but then there are moments he can hit higher octaves flawlessly.  I really dig the sound he has created with this record.

The album kicks off with “Dead Of Night”.  The mix of twangy guitar and Peck’s deep brooding vocals help set the tone for the record.  Then, you get to the chorus and the higher notes provide a stark contrast to the deeper tones set throughout the track.  I really dig the vibe that is set here. Another favorite is “Turn To Hate”. You start to get the indie rock vibe with this track.  It still has the twangy western tinged guitar that is present throughout the album, but these sounds help provide a different tone than the classic country leaning tracks.

I also dig “Roses Are Falling” which takes the album’s sound back to the classic 50’s country ballads.  It matches perfectly with the next tune “Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call)” which starts with a lonesome whistle before going into a western sounding, Johnny Cash inspired back beat.  Then, near the end, you have the ballad of the record, “Nothing Fades Like The Night”.  Here, Orville Peck gets to stretch out his vocal chops even more.  I like that this record has a variety of sounds yet keeps everything sounding like it belongs.  Many artists fail to do when they explore different sounds on one album.  There needs to be something that ties it all together and Peck does that with skill.

This is an amazing achievement for a debut record.  It takes a wide range of influences and sounds and manages to tie it all together in one nice package.  I look forward to hopefully seeing Orville Peck live one day and hearing how his sound translates onto the stage.  You can check out his website for tour dates and his album is out everywhere on Sub Pop Records as of March 22nd, 2019.

Favorite Tracks : Dead Of Night, Turn To Hate, Buffalo Run, Roses Are Falling, Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call), Nothing Fades Like The Night

Orville Peck – Pony (2019)

1. Dead Of Night
2. Winds Change
3. Turn To Hate
4. Buffalo Run
5. Queen Of The Rodeo
6. Kansas (Remembers Me Now)
7. Old River
8. Big Sky
9. Roses Are Falling
10. Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call)
11. Hope To Die
12. Nothing Fades Like The Light