WHO:Pomegranates, Oh No Oh My, Early Umbrella
WHEN: Thursday, November 4 at 7:30 pm
WHERE: The Whole at Coffman Union
COST:$3 for University of Minnesota students/faculty/staff, $5 for general public
We live in a post-âÄúMerriweather Post PavillionâÄù world. Traces of Animal CollectiveâÄôs paw prints are all over the place, from wide-eyed indie bands with fleeting popularity like Beach House or Caribou. One band, however, has taken their Animal Collective worship close to outright duplication. CincinnatiâÄôs Pomegranates donâÄôt make bad music; in fact, itâÄôs pretty good, but so is Animal Collective.
There needs to be a manual given to all new bands with a list of things not to do. One of the top rules would be to not name yourself after food. It rarely works. Maybe Pomegranates havenâÄôt chosen anything as egregiously bad as say, Bread, but at least put a âÄútheâÄù in front. It makes things so much better.
Questionable band name choices aside, PomegranatesâÄô latest album âÄúOne of UsâÄù is a well-produced indie-psychedelic romp. Released on Oct. 14 by MinneapolisâÄô own Afternoon Records (Haley Bonar, A Night in the Box), the album is already gaining national attention. Recently rated as one of the 30 best new bands by Spin Magazine, itâÄôs obvious that as the buzz-mill revolves, âÄúOne of UsâÄù will become the new baby of every alt darling with a blog out there.
The albumâÄôs most striking feature is its copious amounts of reverb. WeâÄôre talking a shit-ton. Add on the intense amounts of delay and this is one spaced-out album. It opens with the ethereal trip-fest and title track, âÄúOne of Us.âÄù Oddly enough the band claims to not take any illicit substances while writing their music.
âÄúThe brain is wild. People have pretty crazy dreams while theyâÄôre asleep and those are like in their head without even doing a drug,âÄù Jacob Merritt [drums] said. This oddly stoner-like âÄúdeep thoughtâÄù is the engine driving PomegranatesâÄô writing process.
âÄúWe just want to show that itâÄôs possible to be creative and make unusual sounds and textures without doing drugs,âÄù Merritt said. âÄúAlthough if someone was doing a psychedelic it would be, I donâÄôt know, it seems like everyone says all music is good with drugs.âÄù Yeah, definitely no drug use here.
The trip-fest is broken up by unexpected moments of inspiration like a drastic tempo change at the end of the six-minute foot-tapper âÄúAnywhere You Go.âÄù ItâÄôs like musically drinking a Red Bull right when things start to bore.
âÄúOne of UsâÄù is an album that will be appreciated by fans of âÄúMerriweather Post PavillionâÄù and the like. Their Coffman Union show will likely abound with people who find themselves in that situation.
