Jon Bauckham chats to sprightly US shoegazers Pomegranates.

Producing sprightly indie pop lacquered with shoegaze guitars and exuberant, youthful vocals, critics have been quick to compare Ohio’s Pomegranates with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and The Shins, a journalistic convention that does not surprise drummer Jacob Merritt. “I think sometimes critics can be quick to make comparisons between an ‘indie’ sounding band with other sorts of touchstone indie bands without really digging into the songs a little more to see what might really be in there.” Indeed, under the surface water of shimmering guitars and vocals delivered with wide-eyed wonder, lies an array of more unexpected influences such as Brian Eno and even Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, something which Merritt hopes will be noticed over time, acknowledging that it is often the reaction for bands relatively fresh on the scene. “As we keep writing, we hope our songs get to the point where people want to spend a little more time with the music”. Hoping for success across the pond, the band recently secured their first UK deal with Heist or Hit, releasing their second album, Everybody, Come Outside! in November following its release stateside last April.

Formed in late 2006 by Merritt with guitarist Isaac Karns, little time was wasted once vocalist and guitarist Joey Cook completed the lineup. Having found a suitable band name (Pomegranates was the first suggestion that didn’t sound cringe-inducing or super trendy, apparently), they were signed by Lujo Records and finished recording their first EP, Two Eyes, just four months later. With the addition of bassist Josh Kufeldt, Pomegranates released their debut album, Everything is Alive in May 2008, garnering a sizeable number of fans and a collection of positive reviews along the way. Achieving more in three years than most bands would achieve in six, they are still conscious of progressing too quickly and running dry of ideas. Such prolificacy in their writing is a topic that appears to strikes a chord with Merritt, who expresses a fervent desire to refine ideas further. “I think we want to pace ourselves and try to hone our songs a bit in the future, and try writing in a different way that might take a little longer. I’m not sure if that means they will be better songs, but hopefully thoughtful and a bit progressive and more focused.”

In the small window between albums, it would appear that this progression has already begun. Their second record comes across as a more mature, self-aware record than its predecessor, while still channelling the sort of optimistic aura that would be expected of most twenty-something indie bands. It even works as a concept album, a loose narrative concerning a disenchanted individual’s escape from the humdrum of everyday life by being taken on a journey through space and time, a story that deals with “discontentment, hope, and appreciating life and the opportunities you are given”. Such themes are expressed more fully when the band are at their most experimental, tracks such as the thought-provoking thirteen-minute album closer ‘I Feel Like I'm a Million Years Old’ a significant leap forward from any previous material. “We just wanted to have a format that sort of pushed us and stretched us, and working within a narrative seemed like a good way to do that”.

Exciting but not overpowering, sensitive but not saccharine, Pomegranates appear to have found a suitable formula that will surely please crowds both home and away. It is highly possible that they could be a popular fruit this year.