Familiar (MP3 album)
...ranging from deep and powerful up-tempo melodies to a haunting falsetto that makes you wonder if the ghost of Jeff Buckley is lurking somewhere in the corner of the room.
5 MP3 Songs in this album (20:14) !
Related styles: ROCK: Folk Rock, FOLK: Alternative Folk
People who are interested in Belle and Sebastian Morrissey The Shins should consider this download.
Details:
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Randolph Williams III formed One Trick Pony in 2003. For the next three years, he and then-manager, Jenny Teixeira, journeyed through a revolving door of band members, while the band played some of L.A.’s most influential independent music venues. In 2007, after years of filling in for absent drummers, Jenny put away her datebook and Rolodex to take her rightful place behind the drums.
One Trick Pony is known as much for its stripped down, eclectic arrangements as for its stark, straight-faced tales of drinking, loss, and lovers. The group has solidified a unique position in Los Angeles, as a band which is as comfortable performing with indie noise rock bands like Health and Death to Anders, as with experimental folk acts like U.K.’s David Thomas Broughton and soulful electronica artist Esthero.
Randolph’s voice is the star of the show: it ranges from a low, soft, almost velvety tone reminiscent of the great crooners to a barely restrained high alto, a perfect complement to the wry wit with which his lyrics paint their sombre portraits. Jenny’s simple but unorthodox rhythms and haunting soprano backing vocals pair with Randolph’s clanging guitar and a variety of loops and synth sounds to complete a unique and diverse mix of alt folk, indie rock, and even bossa nova. Classically trained violinist and L.A. indie scene habitué, Charlene Huang, frequently lends her beautifully delicate melodies to the group’s sound, adding a simple orchestrated quality. The band has drawn comparisons to Nick Drake, The Smiths, The Shins, and even Tom Waits. However, its sound is its own. “We aren’t music historians, we just try to make music that we think we would personally like to hear, whatever that is is for others to interpret as they will.”