This morning Pitchfork’s got a review of Seapony’s Hardly Art debut, Go With Me, which hits stores in two weeks, on May 31, and their verdict is a bit iffy. (They gave it a middling 5.3.) Among reviewer Martin Douglas’ harsher points:” . . . it leaves you to wonder what Seapony are actually contributing to the vast expanse of bands clutching Tiger Trap 45s and portable button makers.”” . . . the chorus of “So Low” (“I miss you every day/I wish you’d stay”) makes Rebecca Black look like Dan Bejar.”” . . . until they can really stand out from the crowd, Seapony just come across as garden-variety twee.”I’ve got to politely disagree. I spent most of this weekend sitting in the sun on a deck at a beach cabin, most of it soundtracked by my advance copy of Go With Me, and the tunes fit my summertime mood just about perfectly. There’s a sweetness, a wistfulness and ease to the simplicity of the lyrics, I love the lilting intricacies of the guitar picking, and I actually find the steady tones of Jen Weidl’s vocal delivery to be calming, not boring. (Side note: The first time I saw Seapony live, they did put me to sleep a bit. Since then, however, they’ve wisely added a drummer to their lineup, perking up their set considerably). I’d like to think that there’ll always be a place in pop music for this type of unpresuming, clean kind of songwriting. Go With Me’s your ideal summertime record–as shimmering and serene as a sunlit ocean. I already feel more relaxed just writing this.Head over to Hardly Art to download two of Go With Me’s finest tracks, “Daydreaming” and Blue Star,” for free. And mark your calendars for Thursday, June 2, because that is my birthday. And more relevantly, because Seapony is playing a CD-release show at the Vera Project that night. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.