Album Notes

The Oxygen Ponies are primarily the vehicle of singer/songwriter Paul Megna, an enigmatic, unpredicatble performer of rare emotional intensity. Band membership changes from album to album, with Megna - who writes, composes and sings all of the band's material - being the only constant member. Like Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith and other poets of despair, Megna's autobiographical songs are reflections on a life well-lived; melodic discourses interweaving man's struggle vs. society and man's struggle vs. his own animal nature. This uplifiting battle for survival, hope, bliss, peace and ultimately redemption is what makes them so compelling.

When pushed to define The Oxygen Ponies, Megna describes it as 'intoxicating bedroom pop' or to quote Magnet Magazine "minor chord folk-pop for the end credits". Both are correct. With traces of Neil Young's On the Beach, Leonard Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate and echoes of Dylan, Jesus and Mary Chain, and the Afghan Whigs - those labels certainly seems to fit. The Oxygen Ponies are firmly rooted in the past without seeming retro, both timeless and timely.

In 2006, The Oxygen Ponies critically acclaimed self-titled debut came out of nowhere to garner favorable reviews in Magnet, Tape Op and Salon.com while landing on three bloggers best albums of 2006 lists with such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Band of Horses, The Decemberists, and Cat Power. Americana UK raved "Beautifully, well-crafted songs... reminiscent of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot at times... a balance is achieved where emotions are allowed to shine through without being lost in a confusion of noise. This album could indeed become a modern classic if given half a chance." With only a handful of live performances under his belt, Megna took off for a 2007 UK mini-tour with Randi Russo - who eventually started singing with him, playing shows with Caroline Martin, Jacob Golden, and The Early Years, and a Truck festival gig with Garth Hudson, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Electric Soft Parade among others.