Norway’s Pom Poko are back with their third album, Champion, which still merges sugary pop hooks with different varieties of post-punk and math rock. However, the band are more comfortable with giving their songs a little room to breathe this time out. Allowing themselves some space puts the songwriting on equal footing with the instrumental pyrotechnics while also reaffirming that they can still go hard whenever they want.
The title track, placed third on the LP, shows off this more relaxed side. It bumps along casually, letting singer Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit take center stage. Yet guitarist Martin Miguel Almagro Tonne and bassist Jonas Krovel are right there, trading notes back and forth instead of just playing simple eighth notes together. Drummer Ola Djupvik keeps the beat steady but also throws in fills and interesting cymbal patterns throughout. Even with Jamtveit’s easygoing vocal melodies, Pom Poko aren’t content to keep it basic.
This is also the case with the album closer “Fumble”. It begins quietly, with just vocals and guitar. Tonne’s guitar part sounds simple, but there are little acrobatic flourishes here and there that may not be evident on the first listen. The lyrics start with a joke, as Jamtveit declares, “A man told me people move / ‘Cause they don’t know what to talk about / And then I left the room / Guess I could’ve asked about his life.” The second verse adds in bass, drums, and a subtle flute, while the guitar and vocals remain the same. “Bell” also rides on a relaxed guitar riff, this time with floaty vocals. The rhythm section lies way back, letting the song be pleasant, dreamy, and never in a hurry.
On the other end of the spectrum, there’s “My Family”, which finds Pom Poko meshing math-rock guitar and drum pyrotechnics with a big, fun pop-punk chorus. Tonne’s complicated but catchy guitar riff meshes with Djupvik’s wild drumming, and then Jamtveit’s singing takes over for the main hook. “Go” lives up to its title with a driving, relentless beat that rarely lets up. The guitars shift between roughly three riffs that stack nicely on top of the beat.
“Big Life” changes it up with a slow, squalling beginning. After 30 seconds, though, the band take off, using speed and dissonance to increase the tension levels. Although the vocals are solid, it’s Tonne’s extended guitar riff-cum solo, which appears twice, that really provides the song’s hook.
Elsewhere on Champion, Pom Poko stretch themselves in other ways. The opener, “Growing Story”, is a mid-tempo indie rock song with decent hooks and sloppy, shambling guitar. The group resist the urge for musical pyrotechnics, instead letting the guitar volume and distortion provide the musical shifts. “Pile of Wood” finds Tonne backing off to let Jamtveit take center stage for most of the song. As the track intensifies, though, Tonne shines with a great guitar moment. However, Pom Poko are content to let it just be a single moment instead of taking over the entire last chunk of the song.
“Never Saw It Coming” opens with an anecdote about Jamtveit being invited on a date, only to find out it was actually her date’s family movie night, a confusing situation. The anecdotes continue, often concluding with, “I had no idea what / I was doing there.” It’s an interesting song because the lyrics stick out more than the high-energy math-rock guitars and drums here.
Pom Poko are trying out several different things on Champion, and they’re quite successful, even with all the variety. It’s a fun, entertaining album and a pretty breezy listen. At this point, they’ve figured out how to balance Tonne’s showy guitars with Jamtveit’s catchy vocals. The bits where they stretch out beyond those two elements show an impressive amount of range. Along with their fellow Norwegians in Mall Girl, Pom Poko have really figured out a way to make math-rock and pop hooks fit together.