This album was recommended by Carla; thank you!

Have you ever listened to a song and you think you like it, but then you’re not sure if you like it because it’s a little weird, and then the singer hits their upper register and it sounds glorious, and then the song ends and you’re still not sure what to make of it?

That was me and the opening track of this album, “Dead Of Night”. The first glance of Canadian singer-songwriter Orville Peck – Pony is his debut album, released in 2019 – is a little country, a little alternative (for proof, look no further than his signing to Subpop Records), a little rock. It kind of sounds like if the child of Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash fronted Band Of Horses.

I think I dig it. There is something really atmospheric about the music and Peck is a helluva singer, and the imagery surrounding his work – especially the fringed face mask, combined with some of his extra-curricular activity (performing on a version of “Jackson” with RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel; recording a country version of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”) – feels kind of subversive in its own way.

My favourite track here is “Roses Are Falling”, which evokes the Elvis of the 1950s. Great track.

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CLTM (Chris Listens To Music) is my attempt to listen to a new album every day; you can follow my efforts on Instagram here (and send recommendations), and if you like what I’m doing, support my efforts by shouting me a cuppa at Buy Me A Coffee.