Pom Pom Squad have returned, and are not messing around. They have dropped their new single “Downhill” (via City Slang Records) – the Brooklyn based band’s first new music since 2021 and their debut full-length album ‘Death of a Cheerleader’. Pom Pom Squad will will play Pitchfork, London, later this year.
With badass dynamo Mia Berrin at the helm, “Downhill” is cheeky, cutthroat, lovable and ominous all at once. Unfurling like a manic spiral at the edge of a bottomless precipice, the lyrics recount that moment of staring into the dark abyss and thinking to yourself, “hey, could be fun.” It’s the first taste of what’s to come from Pom Pom Squad’s new album (more info to come).
On the new single Pom Pom Squad say:
“In my everyday life, I’m pretty reserved and shy so it’s odd, even to me, that I feel this pull to be on stage – to put my music out and open myself up to everything that comes with that,” said Berrin. “When I was writing “Downhill” I was thinking a lot about the push-pull between those opposing sides of my personality. Sometimes being ambitious feels like being self-destructive and I wanted to explore the line between the two. Also, it’s been nearly three years since I’ve released anything new so this song feels like my reintroduction to the world. Pom Pom Squad is soooo back, baby!”
Pom Pom Squad’s debut album ‘Death of a Cheerleader’ was one of 2021’s breakout rock records, with Nylon proclaiming it as “one of 2021’s fiercest new albums”, Pitchfork calling it “a fiery exploration of love, anger, and coming-of-age,” and NPR expertly describing it as “the saturated landscape where punk, glam and camp coexist.” And album reviews were consistently effusive in their praise – with Dork, Clash, The Line Of Best Fit, The Forty-Five and many others offering huge acclaim.
Photo credit – Eliza Jouin