Pony Bradshaw: North Georgia Rounder
Photo by Garrett Cardoso
A studious musician spends a good chunk of time living in the fictitious universes, lost in the stanzas of poetry, and decides to write an album that is made of pieces of stories collected, compiled and flushed out over time. Throw that into a soundtrack-style haunting group of melodies and deep hooks with an impactful emotive voice and you have Pony Bradshaw’s latest effort on North Georgia Rounder.
There is a balance in this record that walks an edge of modern sway and great production with classic instruments to create a soundscape that lays the foundation of the record. Each instrument stands up in places, from the baritone guitars of “A Free Roaming Mind” to the ever-present steel, throughout the record there’s a great respect to classic country music. The steel on the record acts more as a soundscape than the up-front honky tonk front runner we may be used to. This album is a really great exercise in restraint from a musical perspective. The spaces created for the instruments on the record speak volumes about the decision making that happened when bringing these songs to life.
The album has elements of nearly every country genre, and has the wise songwriting perspective of a singer-songwriter, marrying familiar southern turns of phrase with a deep understanding of literary storytelling. There is something here for everyone who spends time around country music as a whole.
“I want to lay my body down, deep in the everlasting sound” – the opening line to “A Duffel, a Grip and My D35,” a song that represents pride and melancholy wrapped in the same set of lyrics that has the same specifics and setting that you’d expect to hear from a southern novel. “Mosquito” follows suit, relying on details to put you in a place and paint a picture for you to stay attached to in order to make the overall emotion land heavy.
The album’s tone represents a sentiment that Pony has expressed. “Every day, I wrestle with the moral consequences of being a touring musician, I’m always finding ways to be okay with doing this. I feel irresponsible sometimes.” It makes the “rounder” piece of the album title and lead single of the same name, “North Georgia Rounder” feel both fitting and self-deprecating in a clever way. It’s an example of the duality that runs through the record.
North Georgia Rounder, is a smart, well thought out album that hits the shelves and streaming services this 1/27/23 and you’d be wise to give it your attention. If you see Pony on the road, show him some of the kindness that keeps the wheels turning.
Find out more about Pony Bradshaw at the links below:
