Sunshine Ponies, The - Mixtapes and Soundtracks (Album)
The Sunshine Ponies describe themselves as a ‘beautiful accident’ more than a band. Comprising of two members- Scott Thurling and Sarah Halligan and countless guest artists, their new album Mixtapes and Soundtracks makes for an awesome indie band musical accident. Every single song on the twenty two track album features a musician from outside the band, ranging from Vicuna Coat and The Aerial Maps to Matthew O’Neill from Brilliant Fanzine and Angie Hart and Bill McDonald from Four Hours Sleep.
What makes The Sunshine Ponies unique is that Scott and Sarah collaborate with all the artists to write the songs, but don’t perform them. It's great to see such a wide range of musicians collaborating with them. Every song on Mixtapes and Soundtracks is unique to the artists performing it.
Highlight tracks on the album are hard to pick, as the album is pretty consistent and of a high grade. ‘18 floors’ which features Tim Reid is definitely a highlight track about love in a high rise building matched with acoustic guitar and Tim’s vocals makes for a track that would make the Finn Brothers jealous. ‘Chance Meeting’ which features Mildsparrow is a song about the beginning of relationships and indecision. With good riffs, mixed with spoken and sung vocals makes the song and its lyrics stand out. ‘Circles’, which features Vicuna Coat, is also a pretty strong track. A mix of percussion, acoustic guitars, toy piano and Kat Winduss’s vocals makes ‘Circles’ quite a cute and quirky song, which is thoroughly enjoyable.
It’s hard to describe The Sunshine Ponies as a band without a small amount of scepticism. Scott Thurling is the owner of Popboomerang Records, to which some of the artists performing on Mixtapes and Soundtracks are signed to, making it hard to figure out whether or not this is just a marketing tool more than a super band. But then the cynic in me fades as the music doesn’t seem hollow or forced, which one assumes if The Sunshine Ponies were just a marketing tool for Popboomerang Records, it would be. It’s quite the opposite, the music is passionate and enjoyable.
Though there are only twenty two tracks listed, there is another hidden one at the end of the album, which is always a nice surprise. All in All, Mixtapes and Soundtracks is quite a nice surprise. I recommend it to anyone who wants a sample of a variety of different musicians work. You never know, you may find a new favourite band! Even if you’re aren’t looking for a new band to follow, the music is definitely worth a listen.
