I've always had a passion for heartbreaking music. A wounded song, steeped in love-torn sadness, will always captivate me. The sun may shine and life may be good, but a sorrowful tune can still be cathartic. When I heard the weary voice of lone Oxygen Pony Paul Megna, aching with hangover blues and incurable loneliness, I knew I would like his music.

Megna, in the guise of Oxygen Pony, composes mournful ballads with the classic instruments of the trade: moaning slide guitars, tinkling pianos, and delicate acoustic strumming. "Brooklyn Bridge" longs for the liberty of connections. An elusive woman waits on the other side, but she might be leaving soon; the bridge symbolizes a fading chance for release. A sudden flame of electric guitars scorches "Devotion". The buzz and distortion add deep wounds of pain to an otherwise elegant ballad.

Paul recently recorded these rough tracks and is working on a full studio release with the assistance of a number of friends, including Steve Salad and Matt Durant of The King of France. His MySpace page has four streaming songs, plus more information about himself and his influences. I'm looking forward to hearing more, as Paul describes it, "sleepy bedroom music for cutters".

Download "Brooklyn Bridge" (MP3), and other Oxygen Ponies tracks from Download.com.