Fazed on a Pony is the indie rock/alt-country recording project of New Zealand songwriter Peter McCall. swan is his second full-length album.
On swan McCall sings with emotional immediacy, warmth, and wit about living honestly in the face of inevitable uncertainty and disappointment. McCall’s mix of wry humour, sincerity, and melodic instinct has drawn comparisons to MJ Lenderman, David Berman, and Sparklehorse. However, Fazed on a Pony lives within its own antipodean aesthetic and sound.
Sonically, swan sees Fazed on a Pony expand from the Pavement-esque tuneful indie rock of previous releases to include pedal steel, fiddle, drum machines, and synthesisers. While there is a diversity of style, the album is rooted in the hallmarks of McCall’s music: uplifting and catchy guitar lines that serve the song, paired with arrangements that feel both comfortable and surprising. Where the lyrics tell a sad story, the music betrays that it might just be okay in the end.
swan was recorded between Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios and McCall’s own home with Rassani Tolovaa (bass), Hamish Morgan (drums) and Shaun Malloch (pedal steel and guitar). It was engineered and mixed by De Stevens, and mastered by Steven Marr.