The rock trio Pontiak, comprised of the brothers Van, Jennings and Lain Carney, have quietly become some of an unstoppable force of late, with a surprisingly prolific output via Thrill Jockey Records, which in the past two years along has yielded four full-length albums and one split LP, 2008’s Kale with likeminded Baltimore pals Arbouretum. But while 2009’s Maker and the vinyl-only tour release Sea Voids were knocked out relatively quickly, their latest album, this year’s Living is the band’s first attempt in a while to slowly, patiently assemble an album over the course of a few months.

(more…)

The veteran Chicago-based indie label Thrill Jockey has been snapping up Baltimore bands left and right as of late, including Thank You and most recently Double Dagger. And earlier this year, Pontiak made their Thrill Jockey debut in a rather interesting format: a split album with hometown labelmates Arbouretum, released not on CD but on vinyl and via digital release, each band contributing both original material and covers of solo material by John Cale of the Velvet Underground.

(more…)