Review Summary: Pompeii, with their ambient indie rock music, released their debut "Assembly" in October of 2006 and pleased many fans of the genre. Their blend of emotional/eloquent lyrics, reverberated guitar, cello, and well-written percussion is sure to catch the att
Pompeii is:
Dean Stafford (vocals, guitar)
Erik Johnson (guitar)
Caitlin Bailey (cello)
Rob Davidson (drums)
and Shane Stevens (bass)
Pompeii entered the ever-growing indie/ambient rock scene in 2006 with their debut release "Assembly" on Eyeball Records (My Chemical Romance, Thursday). The elegant and eloquent music on the album is sure to speak not only to the ears, many fans have drawn heartfelt connections to the quintet's music. This band and this album is recommended to any fan of Death Cab For Cutie, The Postal Service, Mae, Rilo Kiley, or Lydia.
The bands identifying sound of cello, reverberated guitar, and abnormal drum beats is prominent on most of the songs on the album. For example: the opening song "Ten Thousand Lights" opens with bended/echoed guitar, cymbals crashing and cello in the background and leads into a quiter verse which builds back up for the chorus and bridge. The song ends with Caitlin Bailey's cello. "Numbers" also sounds similar, opening with a fast picked, effected guitar intro leading into Rob Davidson's cymbals and Dean Stafford's clear-sounding vocals. The song uses very catchy guitar riffs and added percussion which will catch the attention of any listener. "Catalogue" is also similar to the first and third songs on the album. With beautiful, and well written percussion and guitars you get another emotional yet happy-sounding ballad.
The fifth song on the album, "Pythons! Awake" opens with an asian-sounding guitar intro which leads into a harder song with no real structure. This is one of the shortest and fastest songs on the album. The song kind of jumps all over the place, using different time signatures and sounds all in a short two and a half minute song.
Some of the slowest songs on the album are "Assembly" "Miracle Mile" "The State" and "Stories and Charts." These songs set an emotional and beautiful mood for the rest of the album. "Assembly" is one of the most unique songs on the album as it is one of the only songs that heavily uses piano. "Miracle Mile" is the darkest song on the album; a very laid back song that could easily put the listener to sleep. "The State" starts out very soft and very quiet and builds with about two minutes left and ends with perfection. "Stories and Charts" in my opinion is the best song on the album. One of the most emotional songs that the band has to offer.
The album closes with "Relative Is Relative" which is the best song they could have chosen for a closer in my opinion. It starts out sounding like the opener; very happy sounding and very catchy, yet very emotional. Unlike the opener and various others on the album though, it ends with cello repeating one part over again. The guitars and drums slowly fade, leaving the cello for about thirty seconds to end the album perfectly. The song is very refreshing (for lack of a better word), leaving the listener very at peace.
This album is very good in my opinion, but I'm not going to lie, for those that aren't really into the indie/ambient music scene, this album will do some damage to your eardrums. This is the definition of chill indie music, so you'll either love it or you'll hate it. Like I said earlier in the review though, if you like Death Cab or Mae or any of those bands, you'll most likely enjoy this album. If you like the stuff I've said about it, go pick it up.
Best Songs:
Stories and Charts
Numbers
Ten Thousand Lights
Relative is Relative
Miracle Mile
Pros:
Very eloquent
Very talented musicians
Very well-written music
The use of the cello, which not a lot of rock/alt. has in it.
Cons:
Dean Stafford's voice may take some getting used to.
May seem cheesy for those who aren't fans of the genre.
Overall song ratings:
Ten Thousand Lights = 8/10
Assembly = 8/10
Numbers = 8/10
Miracle Mile = 9/10
Pythons! Awake = 8/10
Catalogue = 8/10
Stories and Charts = 10/10
The State = 9/10
Interlude (For Smith) = 7/10
Relative Is Relative = 9/10
