Masked enigmatic country crooner Orville Peck has announced he will release his debut album Pony on March 22nd via Sub Pop, with the exception of Canada where it will be released on Royal Mountain Records.
Combining the lulling ambiance of shoegaze with the iconic melodies and vocal prowess of classic American country music, outlaw cowboy, Peck croons about love and loss from the badlands of North America. The resulting sound is entirely his own. He takes the listener down desert highways, through a world where worn out gamblers, road-dogs, and lovesick hustlers drift in and out of his masked gaze.
Pony’s lead single ‘Dead Of Night’ is a torch song about two hustlers travelling through the Nevada desert. Their whirlwind romance takes us on a dusty trail of memories – racing down canyon highways, hitchhiking through casino towns and ultimately, ending in tragedy. Orville recalls the adventures of his young love, as he watches the boys silently pass him on the strip, haunted by the happy memories of his past.
The accompanying video follows Peck and his posse of companions – a washed up gambler, a Cubano boxer, a Senegalese cowgirl, and a Wild West club kid (played by Hopper Penn, Alex Cammen, Magné Ndiaye and Dez Sam, respectively). ‘Dead Of Night’ was directed by Michael Maxxis, and shot on location in Nevada at the legendary Chicken Ranch brothel (the real-life inspiration for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas), and features many of the ladies who work there.
Peck’s debut album, Pony, delivers a diverse collection of stories that sing of heartbreak, revenge and the unrelenting tug of the cowboy ethos. Warm lap steel guitars and echoing drums move through dreamy ballads and sometimes near frantic buzzsaw tunes – all the while paying homage to his country music roots.
On the campfire lullaby, ‘Big Sky’, Peck sings about his past lovers – an aloof biker, an abusive boxer and an overly protective jailer in the Florida Keys – and the inevitable demise of each one, as he leaves them for the wide open, big sky.
Meanwhile ‘Turn To Hate’ finds Orville struggling to keep his resentment from building into hatred. A continuous battle between embracing the strength and freedom of being an outsider, and the inevitable struggle of wanting normalcy and familiarity. It encapsulates Orville’s dilemma as a cowboy. He sings about having to constantly repair situations in his wake, and fighting with himself over his decision making. To stay or go; to cry or not; whether to leave without saying goodbye in order to soften the blow; All the while wishing someone would tell him that they “can’t stay,” and to make the decision for him.
And ‘Buffalo Run’ acts as a warning, a song built around the imagery of stampeding buffalo in the badlands of the Northern Plains. It’s one that begins peacefully enough but soon transcends into a kinetic charge that crescendos as the buffalo are headed off the cliff-side.
Pony was produced by Orville Peck, recorded and mixed by Jordan Koop at The Noise Floor on Gabriola Island, British Columbia and mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering in Montreal, Quebec.
Pony is now available for pre-order through Sub Pop Mega Mart and Royal Mountain Records. US pre-orders of the LP through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on yellow with orange swirl vinyl (while supplies last). A new t-shirt design will also be available.
Additionally, European and UK LP pre-orders of Pony through select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on Gold vinyl (while supplies last). Following his recent London residency and EU dates, Peck is on tour through the US this April and May, full dates below.
Pony is out on March 22nd via Sub Pop and Royal Mountain Records.
US Tour Dates
April
11 – Ottawa, ON – The Dominion Tavern
12 – Montreal, QC – La Sala Rosa
13 – Toronto, ON – The Great Hall
25 – Philadelphia, PA – The Boot & Saddle
26 – Brooklyn, NY – Zone One @ Elsewhere
27 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
28 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
30 – Pittsburg, PA – Andy Warhol Museum
May
01 – Lakewood, OH – Mahall’s
02 – Detroit, MI – Lager House
03 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
06 – Columbia, MO – The Blue Note*
07 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion*
08 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk
09 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace*
10 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theatre*
11 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre*
12 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren*
13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Moroccan Lounge
15 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
17 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
18 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
19 – Vancouver, BC – The Wise Hall
* w/ Lord Huron