Pods-Where I'm Calling From (1994)

 

Artist: Pods

Title: Where I'm Calling From

Label: Pods

Format: CD

Cat #: n/a

Year of Release: 1994

Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1994

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+

Sell Date: 8/31/25

Sell Price: $11.82

Discogs Last Sold: 3/2/23 VG+/VG+ $17.00

Low: $11.82

Median: $17.00

Average: $18.75

High: $29.97

Current low price: $20.95

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 3

Have/Want: 28/26

Where Sold: Nashville, TN

Time it took to sell: 10 years

Where and When Bought:  Kims NYC St Marks $1 wall

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B

Sad To See It Go: No

I was pretty psyched to find this self-released demo on the budget wall at Kim's in the mid-90's.  Ben Deily was fresh out of the peak years of the Lemonheads and his new short lived band was Pods.  Considering the commercial trajectory Evan Dando took the Lemonheads after Ben left, one would be surprised that in the early heyday they were a co-fronting tandem.

"Promise" was a radio tape hit toward the end of my time in Boston, and that opens up this release.  Thinly veiled songs like "Name In Vein" have the same kind of spurned ex-bandmate "divorce" tracks that Lou Barlow had with early Sebadoh.  Reunions happen; Ben reconciled and had some live Lemonheads appearances circa 2013.  WERS recordings from 1987 and 1988 were released on Fire Records shortly after.  I ignored all of this, and Ben's "real" post-Lemonheads band Varsity Drag.  Yet, in 1994 I was excited to have this, but the songs didn't really have traction then or now the way Ben's contributions on Hate Your Friends and Lick did.  I put a few dedicated listens into this the last couple days.  The better songs are good enough for me to wonder why it didn't get "released" with a bigger spotlight and it also is mediocre enough over 16 tracks to see why Ben sat on the effort.  You can't even stream it although there is a live show up from 1995.

Immersion is a funny thing.