Islet – Celebrate This Place

Islet - Celebrate This Place

When a band is so new that they’re on their first release, it can be difficult to write about them. It’s even harder when Islet are a band that are almost impossible to track down online. Unusually for 2010, there’s no MySpace page, no Facebook link to ‘like’, and no philosophical rambles from the band on Twitter – fabulous in one sense, because it brings back the idea of a band being inaccessible and mysterious. It’ll probably annoy most of the music press because they can’t have a cheeky looksy on Google to pad out a feature, mind. Following the release of their free EP given away as part of Turnstile’s ‘Bento’ series, Celebrate this Place serves to further deepen the intrigue that surrounds Islet. … Continue Reading

Pomegranates – Everybody, Come Outside!

Pomegranates - Everybody Come Outside!

If you’re anything like me, just the mere mention of the word ‘winter’ will make you long for hot, sunny days and mountains of ice cream. Instead, endless months of rain, freezingness and shapeless knitwear are ahead. As SAD sets in, the perfect antidote is always a dose of summery indie-pop, isn’t it?

Pomegranates step up to this mood-altering challenge pretty well with their UK debut, Everybody, Come Outside! As soon as the insistent drumming of the title track begins, along with the order to “COME OUTSIDE!”, you want to stop whatever it is you’re meant to be doing and play out.

Allegedly, Everybody… is meant to be a concept album, based on the idea of a young bloke leaving home before being abducted by a time traveler, in a space ship called ‘Coriander’. Sometimes the very idea of a concept album can be off-putting, and one involving time-travely funny business might turn off some potential listeners straight away. Thankfully, Pomegranates are SO ACE that they’re able to pull it off without diving into cheese territory. … Continue Reading