Pomegranate
Studio album by
Poi Dog Pondering
Released1995
LabelPomegranate/Bar/None
ProducerFrank Orrall, Martin Stebbing, Poi Dog Pondering
Poi Dog Pondering chronology
Volo Volo
(1992)		 Pomegranate
(1995)		 Electrique Plummagram
(1996)

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]

Production

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
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" 

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Paul A. (26 Oct 1995). "A New Pack of Pois". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 24.
  2. ↑ DeLuca, Dan (3 Nov 1995). "And Then There's...". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15.
  3. 1 2 3 McCormick, Moira (Oct 21, 1995). "Poi Dog Pondering proves fruitful on 'Pomegranate'". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 42. p. 1.
  4. ↑ Kot, Greg (15 Sep 1995). "Poi Dog Pondering Moves to Lush Soundscape at the Vic". Chicagoland. Chicago Tribune. p. 12.
  5. ↑ Wyman, Bill (March 7, 1996). "Poi Dog Days". Music. Chicago Reader.
  6. ↑ Monk, Katherine (7 Dec 1995). "Poi Dog left pondering too few fans". Vancouver Sun. p. C10.
  7. ↑ Roos, John (10 Sep 1996). "Poi Dog Pondering, Unleashed". Los Angeles Times. p. F3.
  8. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 528.
  9. ↑ Renzhofer, Martin (1 Dec 1995). "Poi Dog Pondering Savors Its Tasty New 'Pomegranate'". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. E16.
  10. ↑ Harrison, Tom (5 Dec 1995). "Different folks, different strokes: Poi Dog, EBN both stimulating". The Province. p. B2.
  11. 1 2 Jenkins, Mark (3 Nov 1995). "Poi's 'Pomegranate' needs some juice". The Washington Post. p. WW16.
  12. ↑ Ferguson, Jon (22 Mar 1996). "Hot horns, dance grooves and other mysteries of life". Happenings. Intelligencer Journal. p. 2.
  13. ↑ McDonald, Sam (5 Apr 1996). "Pondering the Possibilities". InRoads. Daily Press. Newport News. p. 12.
  14. 1 2 "Pomegranate Review by Tom Schulte". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "Poi Dog Pondering". Trouser Press. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  16. ↑ Riemenschneider, Chris (2 Nov 1995). "Too many years gone to Ponder". Austin American-Statesman. p. 8.
  17. ↑ Dawn, Randee (Dec 1995). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 28. p. 17.
  18. ↑ Kot, Greg (29 Dec 1995). "You Heard It Here First: Top Local Indie Releases". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. S.
  19. ↑ Cohen, Jason (Jan 1996). "Hot CDs". Texas Monthly. Vol. 24, no. 1. p. 22.
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