Ponderosa

Pool Party, the new album from Atlanta-based rock band Ponderosa will be released on July 31st on New West Records. It is bursting with neo-psychedelic sounds, amorphous guitars and earthen harmonies. It is the result of a sonic transformation for a band that realized within weeks of the release of their debut record, they were evolving musically in another direction.

Aided and inspired by producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, MGMT) Ponderosa gave their imagination free reign and delivered a diverse album that pulls them away from the clichéd term southern rock and finds themselves spiritually at home within southern indie. "Navajo" the first single off the album is an atmospheric, chant-like cathartic stomp of shimmering rhythm guitars propelled by "waking the dead" drums that would soundtrack the climax of a Eudora Welty short story.

The members of Ponderosa are Kalen Nash (lead vocals), John Dance (keyboards/vocals), Jonathan Hall (bass/vocals), Kris Sampson (lead guitar) and Darren Dodd (drums). They approached recording the new record with an open mind and a group effort mentality. "When the band first started, it was me with a bunch of songs," singer Nash says. "This record is a band record. We almost wrote the whole thing in the studio."

Fridmann gave the band free reign and they cut loose. "We got to play in the studio for two weeks without limits," Nash added. "It made the process more satisfying because the songs were new; we got to record them as is." The result is a moody and mysterious collection of songs, full of unexpected twists and turns that will keep listeners on the edge of their seats. "The music sounds like it was played loud, but it's mixed to sound quiet, a technique that amps up the emotional intensity to breathtaking levels.

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