I personally was looking forward to this show for a few months. I met Pomegranates a few years ago at Fountain Square in Cincinnati when a group called Enlou (Curt from Enlou now plays in Pomegranates) was opening up for them. They were incredibly sincere and approachable people, and their music followed a similar course. A few years went by and they were scheduled to come to Macon as the second stop on their tour and their gear was stolen the night before, so the show fell through. We ran into them at Bunbury and at MidPoint, but their most recent show in Macon was by far the best I’ve seen them.

A longtime favorite of the close-knit Macon Noise crowd (and just about everyone else who sees him), Josh McGinty opened the show with a set that sounded much larger than just one man sitting on the floor with a few instruments. Known in the area for his unique loops and sequences, he easily pleased the early crowd that had shown up for what was his only show in Macon this year. We found out after the show that earlier that day when practicing, Josh had accidentally deleted all the loops he had prepped for the show and instead of canceling or playing an alternate set, he decided to re-record them all.

Pomegranates followed McGinty with a lively and emotional set of songs from their most recent record, Heaven. After they were only a few songs into their set, a comfortable crowd had filled out the room and people were clapping, dancing, singing, and humming along. While the sound in any small room can be tricky to work with at times, they were able to match the room appropriately so that little was lost between the falsettos and harmonies.

Pomegranates are seasoned band, both in the studio and on the road. Heaven, released earlier this year, is their fourth full-length album and easily their most personal. I was clued in that their show in Macon was the furthest South that they would be going on their tour, as well as that they drove all the way from West Virginia to make it. Unfortunately, tour mates The Hounds Below became stuck with travel issues in WV and had to postpone the show until the next time we can have them back.

All in all, Pomegranates are completely worth your time. Their shimmering, lo-fi punk is perfected but open-ended, refined but ever-changing. They’ve got a few more dates with The Hounds Below, so check them out if you can!