Album of the Day — November 30
Poi Dog Pondering — Pomegranate
Poi Dog Pondering — Pomegranate
30.November.2020
Poi Dog Pondering
Pomegranate
1995
Attempting to label the music of Chicago-based Poi Dog Pondering is a bit of a fool's errand.
At times their sound is a bit folky, at times a bit rock and roll, and at other times a bit house and electronic; they’re a tough band to label. Poi Dog Pondering is a little bit of everything and, as a result, is its own thing.
What began as a solo project in 1984 by Poi Dog Pondering majordomo Frank Orrall in Hawaii has morphed into a 14-member musical collective.
Leaving Hawaii to venture to the mainland, Orrall, and co. spent a year touring the streets of America, supporting themselves by busking. Eventually landing in Austin, Texas. In 1987, the band began recording their own music, which eventually led to a recording contract with Columbia Records.
The three albums the band recorded for Columbia Records:
Poi Dog Pondering (1989)
Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea (1990)
Volo Volo (1992)
proved the band’s unique sound and approach had a difficult time finding an audience. By the time PDP dropped their third album, Volo Volo, in 1992, the public mostly shrugged. Although, the single “Jack Ass Ginger” got some airplay on college radio.
It didn’t help matters that by the time Volo Volo was released, grunge had detonated an auditory bukkake all over the planet.
Poi Dog Pondering was the furthest thing from grunge.
Columbia Records soon dropped the band.
Perhaps prompted by frustration, Frank Orrall and PDP pulled up stakes in Austin and headed north to Chicago, and it would be another three years before the group emerged from its self-imposed creative furlough.
Pomegranate is the apogee of the folky, rock, dreamy era of Poi Dog Pondering. The atmospheric title track slides smoothly into the acoustic “Catacombs,” which glides right into the downright joyous “Complicated.”
The album contains a bevy of diverse sounding songs, but a running constant in the lyrics is introspection, happiness, and optimism. All motifs that Orrall has consistently brought to his songs. And on Pomegranate, they’re there and in full force.
If one were to whet their appetite on Poi Dog Pondering, I would suggest “Catacombs” and “Complicated” off Pomegranate. I feel they’re the most accessible of the songs on the album.
Catacombs
I’m dusting off the old ghosts now
and they’re giving me a run for my money.
I’m down here with the skulls and bones,
down here in the catacombs.
Swimming through the blood of years,
chipping away at this wall of tears.
With no muslin hands to hold me,
in the dark I was left, to find the light.
Down here in the catacombs.
Complicated
Wanna Get it right this time.
Complicated is all right
Complicated it’s all right.
Sorrow is an angel that comes to you in blue light
and shows you what is wrong just to see if you’ll set it right
and I’ve fucked up so many times in my life —
that I want to get it right this time.
Complicated, it’s all right.
So tell me something someone and help me get it right,
or hit me over the head, box me up and say good night.
I can’t stand to see myself go through the motions
that brings me back into these same old sad emotions.
Sometimes I get so afraid of life
I’m not afraid of death
I’m scared of going through this thing twice
On Pomegranate, you begin to hear the rumblings of Orall and co dipping their toes into Electronic, House, and Soul music. Songs like “Diamonds and Buttermilk,” “Shu Zulu Za,” and “God’s Gallipoli” sound good here on Pomegranate …but become positively sublime on the Poi Dog Pondering live album Liquid White Light from 1997.
CRITICS:
Tom Schulte at AllMusic — “Eclectic and expansive 11-piece ensemble Poi Dog Pondering proves adept at mastering diverse musical styles and controlling the commercial end of their own distribution and production. Chart success eludes Poi Dog Pondering. This is high crime, as any track on Pomegranate will move you to tears or joy on close listen.”
Jason Ferguson in Trouser Press — “The hiatus proved worthwhile, for when Poi Dog reemerged in 1995 with Pomegranate, the band had not only gotten better but had also become more conscious of its original intentions. 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.”
Micahel Corcoran — “Often knocked for cheerfulness bordering on naivete, Poi Dog has sometimes gotten a bad rap from critics looking to have their hip card punched.”
Since the band’s inception, the only consistent member has been Frank Orrall, so to call Poi Dog Pondering a “band” may be misleading. With that said, the Poi Dog Pondering revolving door of members makes the band more strongly resemble a musical art collective.
Regardless of how Poi Dog Pondering is labeled or identified, the fact remains — Pomegranate is a creative line in the sand that saw the Poi Dog Pondering collective begin to venture out into and play with new sounds.
What makes Pomegranate interesting is that the record bridges the chasm between who Poi Dog Pondering was and who they would become. It’s a beautiful and solid bridge if you’re feeling adventurous enough to cross it.