The internet is a powerful entity when it comes to garnering a following for an artistic endeavor. There's a MySpace page, and a Facebook page, and a Twitter whatsit, and on and on, all with the express hope in creating something BIG from something that 20 years ago (Hell, even 10!) would be very small. All this social media stuff allow for endless opportunities for individual, commodity and concept marketing. That's a good thing. We are lucky to expose our talents to others, where a big business would have been necessary before, our basements and a laptop are we need to show people what we can do. Great bands are out there too. For today, specifically, Pomplamoose.
Pomplamoose, comprised of Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte, both YouTube musicians, is an unsigned indie band well worth the time. That's an understatement. Pomplamoose is one of the best unsigned bands currently online. You can listen to all of their original work via their MySpace page, but I'd strongly recommend dropping the $9 on the EP download. (I mean, come on, don't be so fucking cheap!) This duo has a fun, catchy, if not completely unique indie/folk/rock/electro sound. Dawn's voice is somewhere around Feist and The Fiery Furnace's Eleanor Friedberger mixed with St. Vincent. It's these earthy, full, but still precious vocals (but not so precious as Jenny Lewis or Zooey Deschanel) that make each song instantly endearing. The music, whether limited to simple acoustic guitar or bolstered with electro-pop echoes and distant "ring tone" beeps and buzzes, alternately amazes and galvanizes the record. Pomplamoose has cultivated a style here, meeting the Postal Service-based genre expectations and expanding to include faster pacing and more pop-hit-gasm qualities. And while "pop" can sometimes be a degrading descriptor, it is a badge of victory here.
Their original work, beyond the digital music format, is also available as VideoSongs on YouTube. The videos are fun, brilliantly "directed" and very illustrative of the complete artistic package that Pomplamoose offers the audience. "Beat the Horse" is a personal favorite, but really Dawn and Conte are as visually gifted as they are musically. It's refreshing to find such competence and ambition in an unsigned band. There's a clear love for the music here, that doesn't involve big paychecks, just big dreams and big imaginations. Aside from the original EP tracks, you can download, for FREE, an assortment of covers that pit the pair against great tracks like "Mrs. Robinson" and Feist's "Gatekeeper".
Great tracks (original now): "Beat the Horse," "Little Things," and "Le Commun Des Mortels"
Go, to the internet, and seek Pomplamoose - Website, MySpace
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hey, thanks for the very kind review! we really appreciate the pr and plug for the band! many thanks! - jack
ReplyDeleteJack, thank you. I just listened to the "EP" this morning on the road to work. I hope to find more original work from you and Nataly soon. And if you ever tour... Denver.
ReplyDeleteHaving just yesterday discovered Pomplamoose (which means grapefruit in French) during a YouTube search for "Road To Nowhere", I was instantly addicted. This duo possesses that one quality which is so sorely missing from today's music scene. Musicality. And they have it in spades. Influences ranging from Edith Piaf to Howard Hawks to Nat King Cole to OK Go abound, but all the while, the band retains it's true identity. I'm a fan of She and Him because of their uncanny ability to recreate a true sense of retro. But on some tracks it becomes more tribute than artistry. That's not the case here. It's just as much creation as recreation. It's never boring. Take a listen to "Mrs. Robinson", for instance. You don't mess with a classic without adding something of substance in the interpretation. Nataly wisely decides to hold back on the harmonies at first, giving the arrangement more of a sparse feel. Then they slowly build throwing in some steel drums and wavy synth. Jack makes sure the integrity and spirit of the original is preserved through Paul Simon's acoustic guitar riff. No easy feat this. I think I've watched every song they've recorded and it leaves me wanting more.That's one of the highest compliments you can be paid as a musical act. Beyond everything else, you definitely get the sense they're having fun with it and by being let in on some of the creative process, we're having fun with them. My personal favorite is "If You Want Some Lovin'" because of the lilting beat and wry lyrics, but check them out and you'll soon have a favorite too. It's an unholy travesty that they are, as of yet, unsigned. As a musician and indie filmmaker, I would put them on a soundtrack in a heartbeat. As an artist there is no higher achievement than making people feel good. I sense that's what's going on here and I definitely approve.
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