The Snow Ponies make songs. They are based in a small stable block in central Waikato, conveniently located next door to an apple orchard. Yum!
Join the herd for updates on new releases and special offers on sugar cubes:
DEBUT ALBUM
General Release 25 Sep 2026
OH MY GOD
Released 1 Jul 2026
SOMETHING CHANGED
Released 4 Feb 2026
THE LONG WAY HOME
Released 5 Nov 2026
GIVING IT ALL AWAY
Released 15 Oct 2026
Who the fuck are The Snow Ponies?
My name is Phil Dean. I am The Snow Ponies. I was gonna make it a proper band, with gigs and everything. Then I had a bad head injury in 2024 and now bright lights and loud noise make me dizzy. So for now it’s just me and my autism.
Anyway, I’ve done hundreds of gigs and made loads of music over the years. Played in bands in England and Australia such as Zeptepi, The Debutantes, The Gathering Tide.
Then I got tired of it all in 2017 and took a break. Stopped writing songs. Left Melbourne. Returned to NZ. Played a guard in Rings of Power. Got beaten up by Jason Momoa in Aquaman 2. Wrote a book about being in a band. Then someone gave me some weed and I spent a month getting stoned and all of sudden the universe started gifting me songs again. Like, heaps of songs.
So I started recording them and so began The Snow Ponies. I’ve released fours singles over the last year, and now I’m very proud to finally send the album out into the wild…
Nice things that people have said about The Snow Ponies
With it’s blend of disco-tech and indie swagger, potent post-punkery and more hooks than a Peter Pan convention, Oh My God is brilliantly contemporary… move over Wolf Alice, and take Wet Leg with you!
THE BIG TAKEOVER
“Phil Dean’s vocal delivery has the kind of cool presence that makes you feel like you are walking with more confidence while listening”
LOOP SOLITAIRE
“Oh My God proves that great pop songs can ask difficult questions without losing their sense of joy. The Snow Ponies have delivered a single that is bold, compassionate, and impossible to ignore”
MUSIKEPOOL
“The Snow Ponies have arrived with a distinctive voice, and if this single is any indication, the album promises to be one of 2026’s most rewarding independent releases”
FALCO DICE
“Oh My God is propulsive, generous and profoundly human. It reminds us that the dancefloor and the dinner table can coexist, that glitter and gravity are not mutually exclusive”
OURSOUND
“The Snow Ponies bring charisma. They bring entertainment. They bring variety and versatility. There’s no sound like this”
WHISTLING TRAVELLER
“The Long Way Home” is a wistful, beautifully eccentric slice of indie pop storytelling”
BOBPS.BLOG
“The Snow Ponies “The Long Way Home” is a frost-kissed waltz through the backroads of love, a four-minute slow-burn that feels like driving a rusted pickup under a skyfull of falling stars”
OURSOUND
“Phil Dean’s voice feels lived-in and immediate… Influences peak through without ever dominating: hints of pastoral Neil Young melancholy, the cheeky immediacy of contemporary indie pop, and the widescreen jolt of classic new wave results in something that feels both referential and wholly new”
HELLAFUZZ
“The Long Way Home moves with a slow, breathy patience, like headlights cutting through mist on a rural road… there’s a touch of Neil Young in the guitar warmth, a hint of Pulp in the storytelling, and the subtle new-wave glow of Ultravox woven through the production… it creates a landscape that feels nostalgic without leaning too heavily on the past, giving the track its own gentle gravity”
INTROVERT DISCO – Song of the day
“If this represents the level of craft Dean brings to his first NZ-based musical endeavour, the promised album on the 2026 horizon should prove essential listening. The Long Way Home succeeds by trusting in the power of intelligent songcraft, meticulous production, and emotional authenticity – unfashionable virtues perhaps, but enduring ones nonetheless.”
INDIE DOCK MUSIC BLOG
The Gathering Tide /// Zeptepi /// Darn Thorn