SUN ON SUN - Pontiak (Fire Proof Records)
Like something living and toxic being exhumed from the belly of a dying beast, this seven-track album wriggles and slides when drawn out into the sunlight. Dark and brooding in places, explosive and white hot in others, it's a genre-busting source of wonder.
Pontiak is a three-piece from Baltimore, USA, who share the same surname. Not sure if that's a bloodline or a Ramones-ish device, but this is their second long-player, recorded in a shack in the Boondocks. It sounds as organic as unprocessed bran with a rich, unadorned tone that's laced with grim psychedelic overtones.
While the almost three-minute "Swell" is cycling low-range feedback that's a filler, the dark, driving opener "Shell Skull" puts you in the picture from the outset. Growled, sometimes murmured vocals hovers under the radar of a brooding bottom end and pervasive guitar.
"White Hands" is close to 1967 Abbey Road psych with a glorious guitar line, while "White Mice" gathers speed as it goes on and morphs from one song to another.
"The Brush Burned Fast" is a wistful Appalachian lament and closes proceedings but this is an album where you have to go through the dark before you reach the light. It's well worth the effort. On the way home you'll experience the title track which is a nine-minute opus that starts off low-key but eventually scales the heights of gritty guitar greatness. Neil Young with a headful of mushrooms treading gently on the distortion. "Tell Me About" follows and sounds like a jazzy coda until the organ line kicks in for the build-up.
Excuse the rant but when you find intelligent life out there, you have to tell people about it. There's little wasted and not much out of place. This is very much an album in a crowded landscape that might pass you by if you're not watching. Don't let the fact you've never heard of Pontiak put you off when this could be one of the smartest dark gems in your contemporary music collection. –
The Barman
