Pomegranates
Everybody Come Outside
Lujo Records
By Al Kaufman
The Pomegranates, from Cincinnati, have that same indie-pop exuberance that caused the media to fawn all over Clap Your Hands Say Yeah a few years back. Much like Clap Your Hands, Pomegranates clearly draw heavily upon their early Talking Heads and New Order albums.
Everybody, Come Outside! is a creative, high-energy affair. It's funny without being silly, clever without being obnoxious. It has an overall highly percussive sound, but blends in some pretty melodies with its urgent pleas. Joey Cook's androgynous vocals are as comfortable whining as they are caressing.
That's what makes the Pomegranates so gosh darn likable. The repeated anthemic yell of "We're not scared anymore" on "The Southern Ocean," goes right into the naive melody of "Sail (Away With Me)," and does so comfortably.
This is a band not afraid to take chances. They don't always work – the sonic drone of "I Feel Like I'm a Million Years Old" would make even the most disciplined yogi master run screaming from his yoga mat – but more often than not they do.
The CD is supposed to weave a tale of a man who runs away from home and becomes abducted by a time traveler. Quirky, yes, but the tale is so loosely told that it never distracts from the quality of the music, which is imaginative and inventive. The Pomegranates are a musical force, who will only become stronger as time goes on.
The Pomegranates play the Drunken Unicorn with Wye Oak on Saturday, May 9th. 9 pm. $8 Tickets are available here.
