Pontiak Deliver a Shot of ‘Innocence’
Pontiak may hail from Virginia, but the trio of Van, Lane and Jennings Carney throw vintage Detroit-inspired heat on “Innocence,” which you can stream below. Recalling the power and the glory of the Stooges and MC5, the cathartic and succinct anthem about getting twisted on South American hooch paves the way for Innocence, due January 28th.
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“The song is about a time I had in Venezuela,” singer Van Carney tells Rolling Stone. “My cousin and I had been catching buses and hitching rides from gypsy cabs. One evening we wound up in a small rural town where the finest homemade aguardiente is made. We knocked on doors until a man with a parrot on his shoulder produced a liter of white liquid that we finished quickly. Then we found another house, this time with pink liquid. That went down even quicker. Down on the beach, some locals asked us to party. I remember soldiers, beautiful girls and lots of rum. I had a hangover for four days and it took three more to get back to Caracas.”
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Despite the sonic shot of “Innocence,” the songs on Pontiak’s eighth LP yield an array of approaches, from the contagious “Lack Lustre Rush” to the mellow vibe of “Wildfires.” Ahead of Innocence, the Carneys will cart their vintage amps around the right coast, road-testing tracks during a two week tour with Guardian Alien that gets underway on Friday, November 29th. An extended North American and European tour will follow Innocence‘s release next year.