You can see naming a band Pompeii two ways. One: you're naming your band after a town that was buried in ash and largely forgotten for hundreds of years. Didn't anyone miss them? This isn't particularly inspiring. But wait. Two: a band named after something that lived next door to one of the great natural disasters in human history, only instead of being leveled or destroyed - it was perfectly preserved. Pompeii stared extinction in the face and accidentally became immortal.
That's a lot to handle either way and I don't think Pompeii, the band, wants to be forgotten or remembered forever. They sound a little like a post-punky Death Cab lift-off playing Jimmy Eat World songs with Ra Ra Riot's cellist as a session player. That may not be a perfect description but it has got to be pretty close (Full disclosure, the previous influences were lifted from an instant message discussion with my boy CB from Deadbands.blogspot.com. The comparisons are his). Forgotten is out and immortality is unlikely. It doesn't help us understand the band but the music is better than good. Which should clear us of option number one with little hope of option two.
But really, we're just getting to know each other, me and Pompeii, and anyone who lives in the backyard of a major disaster and comes up perfectly preserved might be too good to miss. So pay attention or suck on the ash that pours around you for the next few hundred years.
Listen :: Pompeii - "Rabbit Ears"
2 comments:
I think it is necessary to clarify that their sound is reminiscent of 1999's "Clarity" Jimmy Eat World, not to be confused with 2007's "Chase This Light" Jimmy Eat World. It's a drastic difference, and I wouldn't want 32ft readers to dismiss Pompeii unjustly based on this comparison.
Just fell in love with this song! thanks so much for the post. Featuring it on my blog, check it out if you have the time :)
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