Ponies In the Surf

Camille and Alexander McGregor spent their childhood in Bogota, Colombia, the setting where Alexander traces his earliest pull toward music. Hours passed for the siblings at their grandfather’s restaurant, absorbed by the resident organist’s continuous performances. “In retrospect, I know now he played a high form of Muzak,” Alexander said. “But at the time all I knew is we’d feel very proud if one of us could recognize a song or motif he played...that felt like an accomplishment.” After relocating with their family to Cambridge, MA, Alexander began experimenting with guitar. He later relocated to New York and performed as guitarist and vocalist in several groups, among them Soltero. Disenchanted with the local indie landscape, he returned to Cambridge in 2003 and began working with his sister under the name Ponies in the Surf. Their debut EP, Demonstration, appeared in 2004. The eight-track release featured unadorned acoustic songs with a retro sensibility, generating modest online attention; four long years afterward the duo issued its first full-length album, See You Happy, through Darla.