Pom Poko

As part of Independent Venue Week, the locally loved Norwich Arts Centre, host Norwegian art-rock outfit POM POKO. With support of post-punk HALLAN and junk-psych GRANDBABY,it’s a fitting tribute to independent music culture.

Mr Jason's, of local Crunch Records', GRANDBABY opens the night. They fit comfortably alongside POM POKO as a support act. Jason has the same joy of live performance. GRANDBABY'S set takes the audience through a rich range of sounds and noises. Despite its experimentation it never veers into the alien – the sounds are recognizable – blues, world rhythms and new wave all come through at various points. In the second half of the set, Jason takes the band through what can only really be described as exercises. Like a school session, he announces a song which only features drums, before following it on with a track of 4 bass guitars. The creativity shown off is warming and leaves you feeling slightly confused. The psych-rock rhythms merged with musical exercise approaches. It’s not what you’d expect and that’s what makes it so enjoyable to watch.

Following on from GRANDBABY were HALLAN, post-punk posterboys. HALLAN follow firmly in the footsteps of Do Nothing and Shame with their appreciation for melodic pop punching through cleanly.

Adam Mills (bass) prowls the stage reminiscent of Murder Capital’s Gabriel Pascal. Frontman Conor Clements really carries the performance, leering into the crowd, swinging on his microphone. Throughout the set he anxiously stalks the stage like a certain Grian Chatten. Manipulating his mic, swinging it, pushing it, eventually even putting a dent in it, his energy really hits you. They sell themselves well, but it seems like they haven’t quite landed on where they want to be. Still seeming like a band finding their feet. Their new tracks take a different approach and at times feel sparse.

POM POKO open up the crowd assertively with a raucous My Candidacy. Immediately you’re hit with the sheer intensity of the instrumental trio. Martin Tonne (guitar), Jonas Krøvel (bass) and Ola Djupvik (drums) are an incredibly tight backing to Ragnhild Fangel’s vocal melodies. Their concentration is incredible, their faces contort with laser like, unblinking focus. They expertly guide the crowd through purposeful walls of noise, then into gentle breakdowns with sharp, drastic PC music style gearshifts.

They skillfully manipulate the music with octave shifts, dramatically switching pitches and shifting rhythms. Ragnhild’s vocals slice through the dense metallic shrieks. In between the instrumentals she spins and whirls around the stage with the most infectious joy. Meanwhile Martin, Jonas and Ola contort themselves over their instruments. Every now and then Ragnhild locks eyes with Jonas or Martin breaking their intensity, eliciting mischievous grins.

Just before going into Time, someone shouts ‘It’s her birthday!’. Coincidentally the band already had Birthday down on the setlist. A swift, meek dedication came through A song for you Melissa.

What really cuts through with their whole set is the playfulness. It’s not the noise or roar of testosterone or anger, it’s playful pushing of sonic limits. Punk to push back, not with aggression but by bucking trends and resisting typical musical formats: creating for the fun of it. With long improvisations and exploratory walls of feedback on tracks like Crazy Energy Night or If U Want Me To Stay, you’re forced to bask in it. POM POKO don’t really play "for" the audience in a way a lot of rock bands might. They confidently take it in their own hands to entertain and play on their own terms. That’s partly what makes them such an engaging group.

At the end of the set, the band exit for a brief respite before re-entering for a wonderful rendition of a Bach Sonata for flute. Announced with "we’ve no more rock ‘n’ roll", it’s a welcome calm after a storm of noise.