Pontiak - Innocence

This is the tenth release from Pontiak in a career spanning eight years - definitely a work hard/play hard ethic between the three brothers, which has seen them produce material with White Hills and Arbouretum. This whole album is a mass of contradictions: sludgy but precision-played; heavy doom-metal tracks mixed with beautiful folk melodies. A collaborative and creative synchronicity only brothers could have, it'd seem.

The raucous title track 'Innocence', 'Lack Lustre Rush' and 'Ghosts' are all very QOTSA. It feels a little lazy citing just another big band, but the thing about listening to an album isn't desperately trying to find what new sound has been invented, but appreciating the ride. And the ride here is an important one, reflecting a three-way take on rock, from standard, to folk, to heavy-psych. Sliding and winding beautifully into 'It's the Greatest', echoes of Pink Floyd shine through with mellow organ sounds, melodic vocals and ambient guitar harmonies. 'Noble Heads' drops off even more for a folk vibe (think Band of Horses and Midlake for this one), with acoustic strumming and a mid-song power up, leading nicely into the 60s Americana love-in dreariness of 'Wildfires'.

Part three is headed up by 'Surrounded By Diamonds', a huge kick-back of diving fuzz-bass, heavy rock, wailing vocals, and a doom pace. 'Beings of the Rarest' swooshes and swirls in with the sound you'd expect from Hawklords with lots of treble, a pacy bassline and a crunching. shredding guitar solo to end. 'Shining' drops in immediately, full of repetition with a tricky drum tempo and blasting riffs. With a dreamy high-hat intro and reverbed vocals on 'Darkness is Coming', strangely there is something very post-Beatles John Lennon about this one, maybe the vocals sliding into vowels at the end of each line. All in all, Innocence is quite a ride.

The pace and vocals tend to be the same throughout, changes given in the layers added on - a heavier bass sound, more fuzz, infrequent and frantic drumming. The album isn't very black and white, there's lots of grey, compromising of totally different sounds but somehow, because of the similarity in pace, it all fits together nicely.

Strangely it makes a great motivational workout soundtrack - upbeat but mellow, frantic but not angry, some downtime to breathe, multi-layered but sufficiently repetitive to keep you going. Pretty great album, really. Dump the media recommended playlists and get on the rowing machine with this in your headphones. It's obsessive listening.