Have you ever heard of the kalimba before? Me neither. It's apparently an instrument that seems to conjure up similarities to the marimba in my head. It produces strange wind-chimey sounds that sound like the xylophone taken to an entirely new level. Who is the master of such an instrument thus far? Laura Barrett. Her voice isn't half-bad either. With these two means of music, she weaves together a fantasy of wonder under the title of "Robot Ponies," which is coincidentally about...robot ponies.
Taking place around Christmas Eve, 2053, this is a song about the gift of robot ponies under every little girl's trees. Think of this track in the same vein as "In the Year 2525" ...a bit science-fiction with a heavy dose of folk. But this is unlike any folk you have ever heard of before. Folk without a guitar....it could happen. And it happens beautifully. Who really knew that a song about robot ponies and their 20 preset functions could be so...amazing? Well, now you do. Though by using the kalimba, Ms. Barrett limits herself in a way that all of her songs sound the same, "Robot Ponies" still stands out among the tracks from the release Earth Sciences.
If you know best, you'll take a listen.
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