Seapony: Falling

Sometimes it doesn’t take much. A stranger holding the door open, a sprinkle of parmigiano on your favourite pasta or finding one last beer in your fridge; these little things in life elevate the mundane to the sublime. The same can be said for Falling, the sophomore full-length from the incredibly intriguing three-piece. The twelve tracks on Falling do not carry layers of depth in terms of arrangement. They’re largely simple and casual indie pop tracks, effortless in their charm and largely lacking guile of any sort. Yet buoyed by a healthy batch of catchy and tangible hooks and the soft, intoxicating vocals of Jen Weidl, Falling becomes a memorable release in terms of its simplistic romance. Sure, the simple hook of “No One Will” may not differ incredibly from “Tell Me So” for example, but kudos to Seapony for not over-thinking the process. Recognizing their abilities as a stripped-down three piece, the band play to their strengths throughout Falling; one can indulge in the album without becoming too cerebrally or emotionally involved in it. Though with all its hazy summer afternoon aesthetics, it’s likely that most will, regardless.

There’s an economy throughout Falling that will please just as easily as it will entice. “Follow” moves with a delightfully airy pace, and is one of the many tracks on the album which will have listeners clamouring for a convertible and an empty beachside road. We understand that somewhere on Falling there’s a broken heart being exposed somewhere, but it’s hard to expose through the consistent three-minute tracks. Weidl’s lyrics, again, dripping with a simple sincerity, do attempt to tell a story. Yet one would be forgiven for considering them an afterthought, in the face of a voice that drags the mind to other places with jarring efficiency.

“Never Be” maintains a coffee-shop intimacy with dreamy, big-city possibilities, “Prove to Me” borrows largely from the Smiths in its romanticizing of personal, emotional turmoil and “Fall Apart” hears the band favouring rolling acoustics over potent hooks. And it’s all done with a certain humble, je ne sais quoi that will lead to a well-worn needle on your turntable. The seasons may be changing and many are preparing for the onslaught of winter. On Falling, Seapony take a step back and remember the simpler things in life, and how much joy they can usually provide.