Motopony: Motopony

Towards the end of "Wake Up," a song off Motopony's astounding self-titled debut, singer Daniel Blue breaks from the atmosphere of his gently-sung delivery to speak the question "do you remember, kids?" It is a subtle yet startling moment, the kind of moment when you are headlong into a strange and beautiful dream and you suddenly stop to say aloud "this is just a dream," just before you venture further into your own impressionist panorama.
 
Motopony hails from Tacoma, Washington just outside of Seattle, an area that is experiencing a groundswell of interesting artists recently (Fleet Foxes, The Head & The Heart, Telekinesis, Cave Singers, et al). Their album is a masterful exercise in tone and mood, a blend of acoustic and indie pop, with vocals as delicate, soulful and penetrating as Iron & Wine and a palette as colorful as Devendra Banhart without the peculiarities (less freak, more folk).  Songs like "June," "Vetiver" and "Wait For Me" have a picturesque simplicity which builds and unfolds and the open spaces of the songs have a natural freedom to them.
 
That’s not to say all of Motopony is a picture-postcard from Mellow Grove.  "Seer" struts along with a bluesy bounce while "I Am My Body" exudes an Exile-era Stones southern-fried boogie.  But it all works together to paint a landscape that is not easy to find your way back from, breadcrumbs or not.  The very end of "Wake Up" proposes the words "it's time to wake up/from this dream."  I would just as soon stay deep in this dream, thank you very much.
 
-- Dan Wilcox, KCRW Music Host
 
Motopony will be available to stream on demand from May 16 through June 14, 2011. The album will be released on Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

Artist website: http://www.myspace.com/motopony
 
Track listing:
1. June
2. King of Diamonds
3. Seer
4. I Am My Body
5. Vetiver
6. Intro
7. God Damn Girl
8. Wait For Me
9. Wake Up
10. Euphoria