Pomegranate Tea’s newest EP “In Contrast”

We have been excitedly waiting a new release from Rhode Island based band Pomegranate Tea since before their single “Margaret” (released just a week ago, on March 25) even gave us a taste of what their new music would sound like. Luckily, the wait is over as their sophomore EP “In Contrast” hit streaming platforms everywhere yesterday, April 2nd.

The first song on the EP, “SpongeBob season 1-3” jumps directly into high energy drums and dancy guitar tones reminiscent of their first EP, “Life Is Getting So_____.”. However it’s clear very quickly that there’s pretty big improvement in recording quality in relation to their first release. Something really fun about this song is that about halfway through the song, a Glockenspiel is introduced, playing along with the guitar and leading into the extended bridge of the song. This makes for a easy tone change between the original fast paced, dancy energy, to the bridge’s cool vibe as the lead singer (Matt Baillargeon) repeats the songs closing line, “feel alive”. The song finally ends with a clip from GTA V, where the character Michael says “He's a good kid? A good kid? / Why? Does he help the fucking poor? / No. / He sits on his ass all day, smoking dope and jerking off while he plays that fucking game. / If that's our standard for goodness... then no wonder this country's screwed.”

This end quote adds a really different context to the song, which previously felt very personal. The contrast between Matt’s lyrics like “You fucked up, / Already fucked up. / Well, good luck. / You’ll start again tomorrow.” Where everything is very direct and interpersonal; vs the line “If that's our standard for goodness... then no wonder this country's screwed.” makes it feel reflective of a much bigger conversation, beyond any argument between two individuals.

The second song “FU REECE” meets with the same upbeat energy as before, and features very minimalistic lyrics. At just over 2 minutes long, the song is mostly comprised of the line “say you wanted more” and lots of “woah”s — while pretty simplistic in that regard, this allows a lot of room for the listener to appreciate the quality of Baillargeon’s voice, and how clearly it cuts through the rest of the noise in the song. Towards the end of the song, the Glock returns briefly, which was a nice call back. The Glock ends up making an appearance many times throughout the EP, which is a cool way to tie all of the songs together, and works well to make the overall sound of the EP a bit different from average emo music.

The next song “Different” opens with an insane twinkly guitar riff, but the true star of the song in my opinion is actually the bass, which takes a front seat in most of this song. “Different” is probably one of the catchier songs on the EP. In fact, the listener is able to catch on to the chorus; “Always different when it aint me, / And I’m never close enough to intervene. / But I’m always there. / Never good enough to please me, / With your dumb, petty lies…” and sing along to it by the end of the song, which is a really impressive thing to accomplish.

The fourth song on the EP, (and the song that was used as the single) “Margaret” is actually based on the character from Cartoon Network’s Regular Show. That’s right. The love interest from Regular show. The song is written in letter form from the perspective of Mordecai, who is clearly over being strung along by his crush. This song is a really perfect example of the New Wave DIY emo trend that is making excellent music and not taking yourself too seriously — which this band as a whole definitely taps into at all times. In fact; we had already seen this from Pomegranate Tea with the title “Spongebob Season 1-3” on this EP, and songs like “Mario 69” and “Squidward Tentacles Sucks Eggs” off of their previous release. The ability to make music that stands alone and is worth listening to, while keeping it light hearted and referencing, or sampling anything our funny little hearts desire is probably one of my favorite parts about DIY.

The second to last song “Maraschino” takes on a more serious tone immediately. While “Margaret” is written as a breakup song, with lines like “Hey Margaret, / I’m wondering how you get away, / With all this fucking bullshit. / Playing me and hating me, /Every single day.”, Maraschino begins immediately discussing drug use, and introduces us to visuals or Maraschino lying in a pool of his own blood. The same twinkly guitar and upbeat drums contrast the seeming call to action as the lead singer chants “Hands up don’t shoot, / We were all meant to live in inner peace. / Owe us, you owe us / You owe us for this.” — which is a drastic tone change from “Margaret” and possibly our favorite song on the EP.

Finally, the last song on the EP, adequately named “The Closer” starts with a ton of energy build up created by the drums, before falling into place when the singer enters. The drums throughout this entire EP are full of energy and move listeners through the EP seamlessly, but that is especially true in this song. Already by this point this song rightfully feels like a true finale. The song calls for self reflection and growth from the point of view of someone who has already made it to the other side; someone who’s already put adequate work into themselves and is pushing others to do the work too. Lines like “Just face it, / You’re placing blame on yourself, / You’re a haunted house. / Good looking, / Stop choosing to deflate yourself. / Stop lying to yourself.” Encourage change and getting better in an “I’ve been there” kind of way. The song includes a bridge with a group vocal portion that includes backing horns supplied by the bands incredibly talented bassist Reece Ashley, and if you know anything about The Agency, you know we are a sucker for gang vocals AND an added horn section. The very last few seconds of the EP are a clip from an iconic Regular Show bit where Mordecai and Rigby chant “ooooh not setting up the chairs next time!! Not setting up the chairs next time!!” which, after the rest of the EP, was an incredibly fitting way to close.

Overall, when we think of the things that make DIY emo good, we think of the band Pomegranate Tea. Between energetic drums, and twinkly guitar, to emotional lyrics contrasted against funny and familiar references, it seems clear to us that Pomegranate Tea are all incredibly talented and know exactly what kind of vibe they are interested in creating, and we at The Agency a big fans of it. We cannot recommend this release enough and encourage you to keep up with Pomegranate Tea, as we’re sure they’ll become one of the front runners on New England Emo very soon.

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