“Blue Star”
from the album Go With Me
2011
iTunes
If the success of everyone from Mates of State to Tennis is an indication, couples making syrupy indie-pop will always hold a special appeal. Seattle’s Seapony proves why. The title of the band’s alluring debut, Go With Me — along with the music itself — reflects an innocent, idealized romance. The couple in question, singer Jen Weidl and guitarist Danny Rowland, likely have their differences in real life, but they choose not to inflict them on their songs. Granted, there’s an undertone of heartsickness and uncertainty to “I Really Do,” a lullaby full of fluttery strums and gentle twang that draws on the humblest fringe of the ’90s-era K Records roster, particularly The Softies. But when Weidl whispers, “Do you believe in you and me? / ‘Cause I do, I really do,” there’s no doubt in her voice that the object of her affection is just as crush-ridden. That’s a lot of vanilla to swallow, but to Seapony’s credit, the chaste sweetness is always coaxed, never forced. The same can be said of the instrumentation, a frictionless blend of smoothly blurred guitar and sparse drum programming that recalls Young Marble Giants, only with all the iciness licked off. It doesn’t offer an edgily cynical or even realistic look at relationships, but Weidl and Rowland don’t seem to care. Nor should they. In spite of its numbing sameness, Go With Me succeeds at being exactly what it wants to be: a drowsy, unfussy album that feels as domestic and comforting as a Sunday afternoon curled up on the sofa.