POM POKO

Champion (Bella Union)

Norwegian four-piece Pom Poko already have 2021’s excellent Cheater in their discography, and third album Champion should earn them more fans again. Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit’s vocals are more in focus, the songwriting is mature and sparky, and a finely honed band are feeding off each other’s energy.

A stint of time apart to do life has given the band a new appreciation, and this sense of liberation, helped by their self-production, feeds through into the tunes, creating pure alchemy. If you’re into The Cardigans and The Breeders, then I urge you to get hip to this. Pile Of Wood has the carefree feel and smooth gear changes of The Cardigans’ best and the mid-album Bell has one sublime middle eight held together by a choir of Ragnhild’s voice, militaristic drums and low strung bass.

While Go and My Family are energetic pop-punkers, Never Saw It Coming is like early XTC, chock full of rifforama from Martin Tonne; switching from powerpop to punk and jerky math-rock, it’s topped with a blistering guitar solo and a pop chorus. Guitars churn and wail over the unstoppable train of Big Life, like Yeah Yeah Yeahs in paintstripping mode, and then the cute melodies of Fumble return to finish. Champion will have you feeling top of the world.

words CHRIS SEAL