Pons The Pons Estate
If you’ve had the opportunity to see the Daniels’ film Everything Everywhere All At Once, you understand the lack of inherent meaning is the very thing that makes all things equally meaningful. The Brooklyn noise-punk trio that FTA’s very own EIC describes as a “frantic noise punk band that sounds like Brainiac and Hella had a baby that was raised by no wave wolves on acid,” is the musical equivalent of that very same ethos.
As the band tells us via a press release, they: “Meld the angular dissonance of 1970’s post-punk and no wave with the brash presentation and theatricality of glam rock, unpredictable math rock grooves, and tribal group percussion, Pons is a band that embodies deconstruction and refuses to compartmentalize its influences; A sonic deluge that is rivaled by few in its throttling intensity and leaves only the luckiest of eardrums unscathed.”
Welcome to The Pons Estate; a six-track barrage of harsh melodies and percussive abrasion that unfolds more like a journey through the imagination of 3D space than it does your standard EP.
“While the group’s confrontational and unhinged modus operandi often leads to comparisons to artists such as Death Grips, Swans, and The Stooges, Pons is a band that consistently defies comparison and creates music that truly resists.” And indeed, their sound can’t be nailed down to just one thing, a no wave fury that sees elements of noise, grunge, post-punk, surf, metal, glam and more weaving throughout their sonic tapestry.
Pons (photo by Sydney Bradford)
The trio functions well without bass by employing two drummers—Jack Parker sitting at a traditional kit and Sebastian Carnot with a standing kit sans bass drum— who together provide a bedrock of percussion allowing the barrage of guitar and vocals from Sam Cameron to spill over the hefty wall of noise. It’s an all out non-stop bombardment of start-stop blast beat chaos that’s just mathy enough to cause confusion, loud enough to keep your ears ringing the next day, and so intense, just watching them is exhausting.
There is a very conscious and deliberate effort to take “the ethos of classic glam rock and rock n’ roll [and filter it] through Pons’ angular and alien lens to create and vibrant and sprawling six track EP the leads the listener on a journey through the various rooms of band’s frightening and alluring estate.”
Highlights include polyrhythmic freakout “SEVEN ATE NINE,” which is the perfect exposition of their many layers, striking all your nerves at once as your synaptic pathways form new connections and your brain finds sonic equilibrium. Whereas “HUNGAHUNGA” relentlessly jerks you back and forth—the whiplash-inducing track rides like an old wooden roller coaster click clacking through the drops and held together by nothing but a series of rusty pins.
To fully experience Pons though, it’s imperative you catch their live show. Not only is it in my opinion the only true setting that can capture the crucial visceral component of their sound (the studio can only do so much to contain the frenetic energy of a band like this after all), but their live show also employs swords, snakes and other theatrics that feel like a twisted adventure of Zelda; I’m plugged in and ready for the ride!
Pons live (photos by Kate Hoos)
The Pons Estate was self-released and is available on all major streaming platforms, cassettes are available for pre-order via Insecurity Hits. The band will play a release show on Sunday 12/18 at The Sultan Room with Venus Twins, Lip Critic and ID Sus.