Pomegranate | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1995 | |||
Label | Pomegranate/ Bar/None | |||
Producer | Frank Orrall, Martin Stebbing, Poi Dog Pondering | |||
Poi Dog Pondering chronology | ||||
|
Pomegranate is an album by the American band Poi Dog Pondering, released in 1995. [1] [2] It was first released in a limited edition by the band's label, with a national release by Bar/None Records. [3] The band supported the album with a North American tour. [4] Pomegranate sold more than 40,000 copies in its first six months of release. [5] "Catacombs" was released as a single. [6] An EP, Electrique Plummagram, contained dance remixes of some Pomegranate tracks. [7]
The album was produced by Frank Orrall, Martin Stebbing, and the band. [8] It was recorded in an empty basketball gym in Chicago over a period of seven months. [3] The band, which raised around $10,000 for the sessions, aimed for a production that would sound good in a dance club. [3] Frontman Orrall used a handheld microphone for many of the songs, recording "Diamonds and Buttermilk" while crawling around the floor. [9] Orrall thought that Pomegranate was a more cohesive album than the band's previous releases. [10] Steve Goulding played drums on Pomegranate. [11] "God's Gallipoli" addresses the leukemic lymphoma of bandmember Brigid Murphy; Orrall, partly in response to criticism of the band's previous albums, tried to write songs about more serious matters. [12] [13]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [8] |
Trouser Press wrote: "A collection of groovy, danceable numbers propelled by Orrall's dramatic voice and overly poetic lyricism, Pomegranate manages to recapture both the fun-loving spirit and accomplished musicianship that made Poi Dog such a delight at the start." [15] The Austin American-Statesman determined that "what we have is a funk, soul, techno, psychedelic, artsy, hippie, Whole Foods-eating, Zooropa-inspired band with transcendental lyrics and a staggering nine members." [16] CMJ New Music Monthly praised the "Kraftwerk-meets-disco" sound of "Chain". [17]
The Washington Post concluded that, "though impeccably performed and arranged, the resulting sound—frequently folkie, sometimes funky—is seldom anything more than facile." [11] The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "Poi's most infectiously danceable disc, and also its moodiest." [18] Texas Monthly called it "a deep and—believe it or not—dark multigenre piece set amid a bubbling stew of strings, horns, percussion, and odd electro-funk pulsing, plus other weirdly beautiful noises." [19]
AllMusic noted that "they're at their most sublime and inimitable in the pop ballads." [14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Pomegranate" | |
2. | "Catacombs" | |
3. | "Complicated" | |
4. | "The Chain" | |
5. | "Big Constellation" | |
6. | "Sandra at the Beach" | |
7. | "Diamonds and Buttermilk" | |
8. | "Shu Zulu Za" | |
9. | "God's Gallipoli" | |
10. | "The Shake of Big Hands" | |
11. | "Al le Luia" |
Pomegranate | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1995 | |||
Label | Pomegranate/ Bar/None | |||
Producer | Frank Orrall, Martin Stebbing, Poi Dog Pondering | |||
Poi Dog Pondering chronology | ||||
|
Pomegranate is an album by the American band Poi Dog Pondering, released in 1995. [1] [2] It was first released in a limited edition by the band's label, with a national release by Bar/None Records. [3] The band supported the album with a North American tour. [4] Pomegranate sold more than 40,000 copies in its first six months of release. [5] "Catacombs" was released as a single. [6] An EP, Electrique Plummagram, contained dance remixes of some Pomegranate tracks. [7]
The album was produced by Frank Orrall, Martin Stebbing, and the band. [8] It was recorded in an empty basketball gym in Chicago over a period of seven months. [3] The band, which raised around $10,000 for the sessions, aimed for a production that would sound good in a dance club. [3] Frontman Orrall used a handheld microphone for many of the songs, recording "Diamonds and Buttermilk" while crawling around the floor. [9] Orrall thought that Pomegranate was a more cohesive album than the band's previous releases. [10] Steve Goulding played drums on Pomegranate. [11] "God's Gallipoli" addresses the leukemic lymphoma of bandmember Brigid Murphy; Orrall, partly in response to criticism of the band's previous albums, tried to write songs about more serious matters. [12] [13]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [8] |
Trouser Press wrote: "A collection of groovy, danceable numbers propelled by Orrall's dramatic voice and overly poetic lyricism, Pomegranate manages to recapture both the fun-loving spirit and accomplished musicianship that made Poi Dog such a delight at the start." [15] The Austin American-Statesman determined that "what we have is a funk, soul, techno, psychedelic, artsy, hippie, Whole Foods-eating, Zooropa-inspired band with transcendental lyrics and a staggering nine members." [16] CMJ New Music Monthly praised the "Kraftwerk-meets-disco" sound of "Chain". [17]
The Washington Post concluded that, "though impeccably performed and arranged, the resulting sound—frequently folkie, sometimes funky—is seldom anything more than facile." [11] The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "Poi's most infectiously danceable disc, and also its moodiest." [18] Texas Monthly called it "a deep and—believe it or not—dark multigenre piece set amid a bubbling stew of strings, horns, percussion, and odd electro-funk pulsing, plus other weirdly beautiful noises." [19]
AllMusic noted that "they're at their most sublime and inimitable in the pop ballads." [14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Pomegranate" | |
2. | "Catacombs" | |
3. | "Complicated" | |
4. | "The Chain" | |
5. | "Big Constellation" | |
6. | "Sandra at the Beach" | |
7. | "Diamonds and Buttermilk" | |
8. | "Shu Zulu Za" | |
9. | "God's Gallipoli" | |
10. | "The Shake of Big Hands" | |
11. | "Al le Luia" |