In 2022, I discovered the Pomps for the first time when Bad Time Records put out their album, Bottom of the Pomps. The new wave/two-tone sound was unique, special, and felt very nostalgic and familiar despite being so incredibly original. Since the release of this album, I’ve listened to hundreds of other ska albums, and fallen in love with dozens, however, the Pomps has never fallen out of my regular rotation. Now, 3 years later, the Pomps have a new album, with ten new tracks, and I couldn’t be happier. Once again, the album is being released on Bad Time Records, and once again, it’s an early favorite for album of the year.
With the new album title being Partial Eclipse of… I was definitely prepared for the band to lean even more heavily into the 80s sound, but it feels like it’s less prevalent throughout this album. This album has much of the same sound as the last album, yet, if anything changed, it would be a little bit of that 1980s vibe. The keys on this album are, once again, such a signature sound that is unmistakable their own and set up everything about this album. The lyrics are about an aging husband and father, navigating a world that is undeniably unjust and in disrepair. An entire album that is intimate, familiar, personal, and inherently political in a way no other album is. I have no doubt that this album is immediately going into the permanent rotation pile, as an album I will be listening to for the rest of my life.
The album begins with “Rubber Room”, and the first note on the album introduces us to the familiar synth keys and it immediately feels grandiose. By the time the upstrokes and vocals come in a few seconds later ,you’re prepared for something special. The first verse of the song and the lyrics are uniquely recognizable as something no band writes except The Pomps “…luminal space grants me the grace to look you in the eye, wonder what father was like, boarding ships to flee the reich…” in a song about watching an older generation dying in sanitary hospital rooms and imagining a life of memories disappear. The guitars come in with a small solo following the verse laid over the constant hum of the keys, but that’s only a hint of things to come on the album. In fact, it’s only a hint of what’s to come later in the song, this album is chock full of great guitar solos, and we get the first major taste for the last 40 seconds of this track. As the song slows down, hinting at a sad ending to the story, the keys and drums build up to the first truly outstanding guitar solo of the album, powerful and clearly identifiable as belonging to the Pomps. These solos don’t really belong anywhere but here, and they define the sound of the album.
The second track is “World Full of Traps”, a song about hope, and fear, hoping to succeed, but always a step from collapse. The tempo in this song is insanely fast, the syncopation is outstanding. I can’t express my love for this song. I want to describe my interpretation of the song, but again, I can’t describe it any better than letting the lyrics do the talking. “She’s looking out at construction sites the cranes bring possibility, but the world is filled with traps. She’s looking out at a city filled with glass, she’s begging to be held, but the building might collapse… how do I provide the basics of existence? We’re swimming with the tide but I can’t cover the distance”.
These songs are just insanely well written, from the lyrics to every aspect of the music. It’s so upbeat and powerful and full, with insanely good keys, but the rest of the band is pulling all their own weight as well, and the lyrics are such perfect descriptions, but also simple, understandable metaphors.
The third and final song I want to cover is the first single- “That’s Not A House”. This is easily my favorite song on the album, but the whole album is flawless- but once the album ends, this is the one that I’m still singing when I wake up. Yes, these are the first three songs on the album, but holy shit, I could write all day about every song on this album. It’s one of the most “must-listen” albums I’ve heard in a while. Again, the lyrics are a master class in storytelling. He takes a car for a test drive, makes a wrong turn to a part of town that he’s never been to, and sees an unfamiliar standard of living, the type of inequity that shouldn’t exist in the world. I guess I’m feeling a little lazy, or perhaps I’m just a little in love with the storytelling, because, once again, I’ll let the lyrics speak for themselves. “I could never have guessed, this sort of largesse was just hiding right over a hill, can you believe they kept this from me, can you believe that’s there still… Tell me that’s not a house, ’cause if that’s a house I haven’t been living”. This sort of visual description of income inequality, of massive, unimaginable wealth on display, but hidden just out of sight of the poverty and struggles of everyone else is perfectly captured in the song, but then, once again, the absolute amazing guitar solo that breaks up this song is flawlessly executed, the keys that accent it, the bass, the drums, I love everything about this song, and whole it’s so inherently political, it doesn’t feel preachy. It doesn’t even feel political, it’s just describing getting lost while test-driving a car, and telling you what he sees. The outrage that the images conjure feels like they were your own, with no help from the song.
Somehow this goes on for 7 more songs. They filled up 10 tracks of absolute powerhouse songs.
Stream this album. Buy it. The Pomps are a treasure and must be supported.
Written by Gimp Leg
