The Comecrudos EP found its inspiration on a band road trip from Phoenix to the Big Bend area of Texas, where brothers and band mates Van, Lain, and Jennings were taken by the stark and beautiful landscape they found themselves trapped in. To this end, the release is being self-described by the band as “driving music” with “the windows rolled down and dust hanging in the air.” They make a point to say that this album was recorded with no effects or guitar pedals, reflecting the barren nature of the sprawling landscape itself. For these reasons, even before giving the EP a proper spin, the expectations were, admittedly, outrageous.

Last year I drove through the wilderness of Northern Michigan, and I've trekked across the Western United States, Canada, and Alaska, and my skepticism was abounded. After all, natural beauty is nearly inexplicable, and is something that needs to be seen with one’s own eyes in order to be understood. The freedom of the open road is something that needs to be felt. How, then, was this band going to be able to translate such visceral emotions on something so trivial as a 25 minute EP?

My skepticisms melted away when it started playing through my headphones, as the dissonant rough keyboards rubbed against each other more like an orchestra tuning up than a rock and roll song. Pontiak is a band who, even without the aids of distortion pedals or amplifier distortion are able to create vast and atmospheric compositions that reflect the thrill and wonder of a road trip. The sounds on the album vividly meld themselves together into an abrasive, artistic undertaking that explores every aspect of a road trip through the desert, from the juxtaposition of the freedom of driving down the road to the cramped feeling of being trapped in a car. At times a breezy summer time listen, while at others an arduous, moving experience, Comecrudos is an EP that begs to be played, examined, and loved.

Comecrudos, for all its musicality and brilliance, is only a warm up for what is primed to be a special album release for Pontiak, who are set to unleash their next LP sometime late this year. If this was what the three-piece outfit was able to put together based on an abridged camping trip, their upcoming proper full-length is destined to be something that will be praised by the independent music scene and the experimental music scene as well.