Reviews

I'd classify Pomegranates as ‘pastel' music. This term was born from a period about two years ago where I found myself at any number of relatively cutesy indie pop shows and for whatever reason, a lot of people wore largely pastel prints of ducks and bunnies and skulls and stuff. The trend passed but the label stuck. So although Everything Is Alive's album cover does include birds and bunnies and a skull, the more saturated hues and detailed drawings reflect a more saturated and detailed sound than pure ‘pastel.'

First off, let me assure you that there are no girls in Pomegranates, despite the inexplicably female voice singing on nearly every track. The video released alongside their single "Whom/Who," confirms that the voice belongs to Joey Cook (presumably). In the video, the band dances with their high-waisted instruments as a young girl takes them away and turns them into cardboard robots. It proves a vital point: although the Pomegranates aren't taking themselves too seriously, they have enough talent and dynamism to be taken seriously.

In "The Bellhop," Cook's vocals are just a little too feminine and the catchy, echoed and flitting guitar sections produce a sound just a little to flighty for my taste. Luckily some of these lighter moments are contrasted with tracks like "Late Night Television" where the more insistent drum beating and unclean guitar bellow a little harder rock. The best moments happen when these two elements combine, especially in "Appreciations," where Isaac Karns sings (he sounds a bit like Mick Jagger) against an occasionally rough noise rock background, which would fade until some Look Mexico-style moments.

The rough-edged yet layered atmospheric style has led the band to comparisons with Modest Mouse before, which seems like an understandable connection, though I didn't make it until "Thunder Island." Thanks to some echoing, bent pitches and some Isaac Brock-style chanting, the song could almost come off The Moon and Antarctica, minus all the dark lyrical content.

Lyrically, the music is young - like the band and their collective ages - but can be surprisingly insightful and simplistically beautiful. "Desert Hymn" presents a deft depiction of modern-day Jesus and our potential reaction to him: "He'll be a wonderful dancer/He'll set us all on the righteous path, and give us all of the answers/And when we are through with him, we'll string him up from a tree." Although the booklet contains no lyrics, they're easily accessible via the band's blog, everythingoutside.blogspot.com.

Despite my handicraft label for the band, I unfortunately lack the proper grading rubric for them - pastel is really outside my punk knowledge base (and my personal taste). But I can leave you with an appropriate comparison: Everything Is Alive is that CD your friend is playing in the car that you've never heard of nor will ever hear again, but during the duration of the trip, your foot taps, your head bops, you roll down the window and enjoy the tunes.