“If you have a vacancy for Favourite New Band, Pom Poko would like to apply for the role,” tweeted Tim Burgess in April, as Norway’s finest punk-pop anti-conformists, revisited their joyous debut album, Birthday, for one of Tim’s mood-lifting Twitter listening parties. Between the quartet’s sweet melodies, galvanic punky ructions and wild-at-art-rock eruptions, the sound of a band celebrating the binding extremes that make them so uniquely qualified to thrill: and, like Tim’s listening party, to fulfil any need you might have for a pick-you-up. 

As singer Ragnhild Fangel explains of the leap from Birthday to second album Cheater, “I think it’s very accurate to say that we wanted to embrace our extremes a bit more. In the production process, I think we aimed more for some sort of contrast between the meticulously written and arranged songs and a more chaotic execution and recording, but also let ourselves explore the less frantic parts of the Pom Poko universe. I think both in the more extreme and painful way, and in the sweet and lovely way, this album is kind of amplified.” 

Alongside Pitchfork praising the band's "adorable debauchery" in a 7.5/10 review of Cheater, Pom Poko have been championed by NME, Mojo, DIY and playlisted at BBC6 Music and Triple J whilst also taking the media by storm locally with nominations at the Norwegian Grammy Awards and The Nordic Music Prize.