The Show Ponies - How It All Goes Down (2017)

Review: The sophomore studio long-player from the bluegrass/alt-country quintet, How It All Goes Down dials back on the front porch folksiness of their debut in favor of a more streamlined, radio-friendly take on Olde Timey pop that invokes bands like the Avett Brothers and the Lone Bellow. Opening with a straight-up, dirt road-ready banger in "The Time It Takes," a nostalgic country-pop duet between Clayton Chaney and Andi Carder that muses "Ain't it funny where we were back then/Ain't it funny where we are right now," the 13-track set touches on everything from indie folk gospel ("If You Could Break That Chain") to breezy, Fleetwood Mac-inspired AOR pop ("Someone to Stay") with the kind of effortless amiability that can only come from a band that's spent a lot of time in the same van. Left-field offerings like the bluesy, Fiona Apple-esque "Shoulda Shown Him" and the knotty indie pop outlier "Only Lie" display a willingness to rifle through new wardrobes for inspiration, but in their heart of hearts, Show Ponies are a roots band, and their soulful harmonies and heartfelt lyrics help to keep things grounded. — By James Christopher Monger on allmusic.com

Track List: 01 - The Time It Takes 02 - This World Is Not My Home 03 - Kalamazoo 04 - Someone to Stay 05 - Shoulda Showed Him 06 - Folks Back Home 07 - Only Lie 08 - Something Good 09 - Sweetly 10 - If You Could Break That Chain 11 - Don't Call On Me 12 - Bravery Be Written 13 - How It All Goes Down

Media Report: Genre: americana, indie-folk Country: USA Format: FLAC Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec Bit rate mode: Variable Channel(s): 2 channels Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz Bit depth: 16 bits Compression mode: Lossless Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)

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