Ponies in the Surf

Despite moving to Boston from their native Columbia, Ponies In The Surf have not turned their backs on their Latin roots, bringing a breezy samba rhythm to many of their lovely acoustic pop songs. See You Happy is the duo’s first proper album (after a couple of self-released CD-Rs) and they approach it with a level of enthusiasm that’s hard to resist. Comprised of a pair of siblings (Alex and Camille McGregor), the band have created a debut that brings together the likes of Jobim and Bacharach and still sounds fresh. Their vocal interplay is reminiscent of that of Blonde Redhead, with their voices complementing each other beautifully no matter who takes lead, and some of the less Latin-influenced songs keep that comparison alive, especially on "Another Mind,” which has a more psychedelic, swirling sound. The first pressing comes with a bonus CD containing some telling covers of Leonard Cohen, Palito Ortego and the Everly Brothers, and is just as good as the album proper. It’s the perfect incentive to pick this little gem up as soon as possible.