Pom Poko - "Cheater"
Words by Shane Wax
Pom Poko is a fun art-punk band from Norway, and the only reason you haven’t heard of them yet is because the pandemic slammed the door on their arrival, nee, their destiny.
The band planned to take its first North American tour in the Spring of 2020, including playing at SXSW, but by the time Pom Poko landed in New York City in early March, the novel coronavirus had already begun to take its grip and SXSW already cancelled. But they were here and they’d come so far (3700 miles give or take), so they kicked off their North American debut at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere on March 11, 2020, hopped over to Lower East Side to take part in The New Colossus Festival in the Lower East Side, and then made it to their second tour stop in Chicago on March 14 before their tour and most of life around the globe took pause.
I don’t recall what compelled me to drop by Zone One that evening, but after their performance concluded, there wasn’t a single person in the crowd who wasn’t compelled to meet the band, recognizing they had just witnessed something special. Their performance featured a few songs off their debut record (Birthday, 2019), some standalone singles, and a few songs off their brand new album, Cheater, which they had announced would be coming out in the fall. Ultimately, the November 2020 release date was pushed to January 2021, but Cheater is out now (via Bella Union) on Bandcamp, Spotify, etc.
Cheater picks up where Birthday left off, with Ragnhild Fangel’s vocals, at once airy and punchy playfully shadow boxing with Martin Miguel Tonne’s fuzzy and jagged guitar riffs amidst a funky rhymtic backdrop for perfectly danceable tunes, exemplified on songs like “Like a Lady,” “My Candidacy” and “Andy Goes to School.” While the first half of Cheater is propelled by grungy, spacey and pop-punk influences, the back half errs toward post-punk, noise and jazz-rock, with songs like “Look,” “Baroque Denial” and “Curly Romance” showcasing the band's ability to contrast spikey, accented and propulsive rhythms with delicately poppy vocals. Lyrically, Cheater addresses themes of struggling with expectations, identity, and self-acceptance.
Overall, the record is thoughtfully constructed, tonally unique, and wallops of fun. While it won’t find its way into AOTY talk, it will certainly be featured on at least a few year-end lists. At the least, it was one of my top 10 favorite records from the first quarter of 2021, and I can’t wait to experience these longs live.
You can purchase Cheater on limited edition vinyl via Bandcamp. The album is also available on all streaming platforms. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram and liking them on Facebook.
