Photo by Daley Hake
Beloved, energetic and soulful five-piece Americana band The Show Ponies announced today that they’ll release a new studio LP, How It All Goes Down, on January 20, 2017. Produced by Andy Freeman (Eisley/Manchester Orchestra, Rocketboys), the LP follows the band’s two LPs and one EP, which to date have garnered over 14 million plays on Spotify. The new album is currently available for pre-order on iTunes and Google Play.
Glide Magazine assisted in the new album announcement today by premiering the album’s first track, “The Time It Takes,” which is now available as an instant download with the pre-order. Lead vocalist and bassist, Clayton Chaney, said of the song, “‘The Time It Takes’ is about things in life that come later than you would’ve initially wanted them to. But then when those things happen (falling in love, getting married, making albums etc.), you realize that you have such a better understanding and appreciation of them because of all the time that went into those things coming to be.” Later this month, The Bluegrass Situation will premiere the official video for “The Time It Takes.”
From the driving intro of “The Time It Takes” to the final fiddle note of the title track, ‘How It All Goes Down’ is a folksy reflection on the end of the world. Drawing from journeys through heartache, exhaustion, and joy in their time both at home and on the road, The Show Ponies look at doomsday through a largely hopeful lens. The same nostalgic bent that first endeared them to fans shows up in tracks like “Kalamazoo” and “Folks Back Home”: odes to how ‘the way things were’ can never be again. Poignant lyrics come alive in the Ponies’ heartfelt harmonies—the four horsemen (and one horsewoman) of a rollicking apocalyptic hoedown.
When asked about working with producer Andy Freeman, lead vocalist and banjoist, Andi Carder said, “Andy has been an integral part of making this album what it is. His involvement and direction from the get-go not only helped shape a lot of the songs on the album, but also helped inspire some of the songs. His attentiveness during the recording process created a space for us to do what we do best. This album is more than just recordings of the best takes we could give; it’s an emotional, raw, genuine performance thanks to him.”
The Show Ponies are Clayton Chaney (lead vocals, bass), Andi Carder (lead vocals, banjo), Jason Harris (vocals, guitar), Philip Glenn (fiddle), and Kevin Brown (drums). When Arkansas native Chaney came across Houston, Texas’ Harris in 2006 in their Los Angeles college choir, it laid the groundwork for a beautiful, musical friendship. Through collaborations with Harris, Chaney soon met and began to jam with fellow Houstonian Carder, whose sassy songstress leanings paired impeccably with his down-home lyrical style. Once Harris heard the duo’s dynamic, he pulled in fellow college music mavens Brown and Glenn in 2011, and The Show Ponies soon hit their stride.
