Pomegranates want you to Come Outside

I only came across Pomegranates recently, several months after their most recent release and a couple years after their debut EP. I was surprised after listening to their delightful brand of indie rock that I hadn't heard more about them before. I've seen the band described as dream pop, but I found their sound to be slightly more substantial, with sharp guitar lines and bursts of joyful noise interspersed between the mellower, more ambient moments. Their sophomore album, Everybody, Come Outside!, is an offbeat and somewhat experimental pop record with enough hooks to keep just about anyone satisfied, and Pomegranates are a band you should be keeping an ear on.

This is, in most ways, a sunny day record, with bright vocal melodies, an incessantly upbeat tempo, and a charming sense of exploration filling the 48 minutes. The opening title track gives the listener an immediate idea of the group's infectious sound, with crashing percussion, constantly moving guitar, and eager, sometimes shouted tenor vocals, with many of the songs following a similar template. Among the best are the triumphant "Corriander" and the continually expanding "Jerusalem Had a Bad Day," though the band throws in a few low-key gems like the pleading "Sail (Away With Me)" and the slow wash of noise that is the 13-minute epic closer "I Feel Like I'm a Million Years Old," adding to an already diverse album.

Everybody, Come Outside! may not be everyone's cup of tea, but indie pop junkies such as myself will find plenty to love about it. You can find the band on MySpace to hear and learn more.