Norway's freewheeling Pom Poko combine their jazz school training and experimental leanings into equally sugary and explosive music. Inspired by math rock, post-punk, West African music, and weird pop bands such as Deerhoof, the group introduced their loose-limbed, playful style on 2019's Birthday, then emphasized the contrast between their meticulous compositions and chaotic performances on 2021's bracing Cheater. Named after a film by Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli, Pom Poko consists of Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit (vocals), Martin Miguel Almagro Tonne (guitar), Ola Djupvik (drums), and Jonas Krøvel (bass). Tonne, Djupvik, and Krøvel met while studying at the Trondheim Music Conservatory and initially aspired to be a noise punk trio. However, when they were asked to perform at a literary festival in 2016, they added Jamtveit on vocals and quickly wrote a set of sugary pop/punk songs with unexpected twists. From: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4RkC3KmYWnr6PM1FM5Shwz
There is a sense of miraculous deconstruction in the work of Norwegian foursome Pom Poko – a drive to pull down the support structures of their influences and create something slathered in both art-punk ferocity and a welcome assortment of wickedly colorful pop impulses. It all feels so prickly and slightly out of phase with everything around it, possessing an endearingly boundless perspective on how to combine certain sounds for full impact while also knowing when all that should simply be torn down in favor of something without any recognizable parts. Similar in feel to the genre-hopping of Deerhoof or Xiu Xiu, the zigzagging branches of Pom Poko’s music are unconcerned with specific genres or the limitations they can present.
Their 2019 debut Birthday was built from outbursts of burly pop noise and lonesome lyrics, setting a stage both emotionally forceful and sweetly combustible. A product of the band’s tightly-wound instrumental expertise and singer Ragnhild Fangel’s insightful narratives, it was a taut and expressive collection of songs, filled with punk-lite eruptions of sustained energy and art-rock elasticity. This feeling of cheerful adaptation has carried over to their second record Cheater, and the band has further pushed onto the fringes of their collective inspirations. They embrace this ruptured pop chaos and expect their audience to do the same. From: https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-pom-poko-cheater/
