Similar to their namesake, Pomegranates are a pleasing and fruity band, if somewhat undiscovered. They are ambassadors of the light and refreshing side of the world of indie rock, here to assure us that not all indie music is too marginalized, experimental or scary for most of us. Their new album, Everybody, Come Outside!, is a testament to indie’s ability to croon to the masses, rather than challenge them.
Most Top 40 artists out there are good at cranking out singles, while the other songs on the album remain mediocre, acting as obligatory fill-ins half created out of the need to construct a full album. While there are a few stand-out songs in the wonderful melodic experience that is Everybody, Come Outside!, the 48-minute album is actually a cohesive narrative that is best taken as a whole.
The first few songs are solid single material and serve to wake up the audience and orient them to the band’s unique, fun, peppy sound. In particular, “This Land Used to Be My Land, But Now I Hate This Land” will draw audiences in with highly emotional speaker box vocals. The healing tones of “Corriander” seem to encapsulate the therapeutic nature of the entire album. It is the type of song you race to listen to at the end of a stressful day — the type you count on to melt away all the angst.
The real genius of Everybody, Come Outside! can be found in the conscious coordination between tracks four and five, “The Southern Ocean” and “Sail (Away With Me).” In the first, guitarist Isaac Karns’ twinkling chords and bassist Joshua Kufeldt’s solid but playful backup lines hum along with confidence. With his equally triumphant voice, lead singer Joey Cook seems to be showing the listener the world and all of its roaring, rollicking possibilities. “I’m not scared anymore,” he proclaims, comparing sailing to this new confidence. In the next track, Cook swoops in close to the listener, softening up his voice as he gently entreats us to come along with him. Not only is he not scared anymore, he doesn’t want us to be, either. This unique call-and-response between songs is a rare technique and adds to the coherence of the album as a whole.
The album slows down and loses a little steam at “384 BC.” Then again, maybe the empty track provides a necessary breather before the restless, melodic fingerpicking guitar in “Svaatzi Uutsi”, the most popular song off the new album that just doesn’t quit.
The calming tracks at end of the album seem to extend and immortalize it, rather than cap it off. The 13-minute, “I Feel Like I’m A Million Years Old” seems like it would drag down real fast, but in fact the undulating melody is so pleasing that it becomes a bottomless indulgence you just don’t want to end.
What Pomegranates have essentially created is an exercise in humanity; they don’t just connect to listeners as musicians, but as people as well. The cheerful, attractive, flirty first half of the album seems to say, “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!” while the subsequent changeover in tone at the end to a softer and more constant vibe assures listeners that this wonderful band, like any good friend, will always be here when you need them. Pomegranates have really hit on something here. No matter what way you look at it Everybody, Come Outside! is a definite success.
4 stars out of 5.
