Hearing Orville Peck’s 2019 debut album Pony was definitely something I found iconic, and as someone from the Southwest, it hit a special place in my heart.
The Canadian-based country singer’s music isn’t the only thing that’s iconic. Orville Peck wears fringed masks to hide his face, creating an enigmatic atmosphere as he performs to his rather diverse audience.
From members of the LGBTQ+ community to superfans to drag queens and members of the older generations who love country music, Orville Peck draws them all together. He finds this invigorating, according to an interview with Apple Music.
The album starts off with the song “Dead of Night.” The echoing thrums of a guitar immediately set a lonely tone, and it definitely fits the mood for road trips along desert highways. I can’t remember how many times I’ve sung this song along with my friends, before the pandemic of course.
Now the sense of nostalgia is just as heartbreaking. Especially when you listen to Orville Peck’s lyrics and realize that it’s a song of unrequited love. The nostalgia of something bittersweet makes the song just as beautiful as it is dark.
Other than “Dead of Night,” “Hope to Die” is another song about heartbreak. The song is a slow, serene melody that portrays the dissociative stillness one feels after getting their heart broken.
In Orville Peck’s lyrics at the end of the song, “I’m still undone. Not quite young but I, I still try. Cross my heart, now I hope to die,” you can feel the sad melody portray the heartbreak he must have felt before, during, and after he created that song.
The lyrics on this album feel as if Orville Peck left a piece of his soul embedded within. And perhaps he did, because he wrote most of the songs on Pony by himself. His lyrics are brutally honest as if they came straight from experience. If you’re looking for a sorrowfully passionate album, I recommend Pony.