POM POM SQUAD (Brooklyn): Beautiful & Powerful Indie Altrock
Pom Pom Squad has been a staple in Brooklyn DIY scene for their modern grunge sound and raucous live shows (tour dates here), sharing the stage with indie-rock mainstays Soccer Mommy, Adult Mom, Wild Pink and Long Neck to name a few.
Alongside frontwoman Mia Berrin, Pom Pom Squad features bassist Mari Alé Figeman, drummer Shelby Keller, and guitarist Ethan Sass. Hailing from a variety of different backgrounds -- whether Keller's jazz training or Berrin's classic hip-hop and new wave upbringing -- the group manages to be serious without taking themselves too seriously.
It's that balance of solemnity and whimsy that allows punk aesthetics and emotional tenderness to live side by side: chunky, distorted guitar on some tracks, and near-whisper on others; brash yells or tame, wry wit.
This intro is better than anything else I could have done. A big thank you to Mia Berrin from the band for her kindness and hard work on this collaboration.
When she's not making music, Mia works in music publicity and PR at Girlie Action
THE MUSIC
What Mia tells us about some of Pom Pom Squad’s songs
Most of the songs on “Ow” have a pretty interesting story, but I’ll give the liner notes versions:
I was taking a bath when I came up with the riff for “Heavy Heavy”-- I'm a pretty intuitive writer, (which just means that I don’t really know music theory) so if I come up with a melody or riff, I can usually pluck it out on guitar by ear.
I was in standard tuning, so I couldn’t quite find it-- I called my friend, and guitarist at the time, Alex Mercuri, and made him figure it out. After I put some clothes on, we sat on facetime for an hour or two and just recorded layers and layers of noise in Garageband.
That song structure-- which I’d describe as rolling-down-a-hill-of-anxiety--- came to me pretty immediately.
‘Cherry Blossom’ was the first song I wrote toward what I suspected would be an EP, at the time. I was in a pretty dark place mentally, and my best friend, Spencer Peppet who is in a phenomenal band called The Ophelias, came up with a writing prompt change to try and cheer me up-- we each came up with 20 songs titles for the other person, picked 10 out of a random # generator and challenged each other to write the song that would correspond with each title.
‘Cherry Blossom’ is the first and only song that came off of that list. I wrote it as an apology of sorts, but it’s a really bad apology if I’m being honest-- it’s not something I regret though.
Again is sort of a mystical song. I’m pretty obsessive about recording and writing things down for fear of losing them forever. The voice memos on my phone are full of strange little one-off ideas.
I came home from work one night last summer and just started noodling around on my guitar and recorded all of it. About a week later, I found “Again” fully written, lyrics, riffs, and all. About a month ago, I lost everything on my phone which means all of my original Ow voice memos are lost somewhere in cyberspace. Sad.
Music Work
The music work to date is:
2019: Ow, album
2017: Hate it here, EP
2015: Teenage Girls, demo single; Pharmacy, demo single
You can find their music on Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud.
INTERVIEW
Who are the group members?
Me (Mia Berrin- Hi!)
Mari Alé Figeman
Shelby Keller
And Ethan Sass
How did you meet?
When I met Shelby and Maria, they were playing in another band and I was playing by myself. I had broken up with someone that morning and was kind of wired and emotional. I ended up spilling all my guts to them in the dressing room and they were almost bizarrely receptive. I played them some demos and they watched about two songs in my set. Later that night they both separately, drunkenly came up to me and asked when we were going to start practicing together-- and they were serious! We met Ethan about six months later, and the first time we practiced with him we knew he was perfect.
How did you come up with your name?
The name comes from an image I saw once. I’d actually never heard the phrase “Pom Pom Squad” before and I fell in love with it immediately. It’s taken on a more multifaceted meaning since then, but I like the way it allows people to underestimate us. It’s also very fitting of the way that people fail to equate femininity with strength.
What is your music about?
Me! -- The songs I’ve put out have mostly centered around mental health, illness, healing, heartbreak, but the project grows as I do. I’m actually the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, which poses an interesting writing challenge...
What are your goals as an artist artistically/commercially?
My goals as an artist are to keep exploring. If I learn everything there is to know about myself, I’ll have no reason to ever write again. I try to write things that feel necessary for me to write. Commercially I just want to be the queen of #Rock and #Roll.
Tell us what you are looking for when trying to achieve your sounds. Do you experiment a lot or have a clear idea of what you want?
Usually, I write when I can’t find a song that feels the way I’m feeling. I experiment now more than I used to-- when you (I) tend to write about certain topics pretty frequently, you (I) come up with a pretty concrete process. Now, I have to learn to write about other stuff. Lately, that other stuff has been joy and love.
Explain your songwriting process.
I feel like I’m always writing. I get pretty obsessive about writing things down, so if something pops into my head that feels like a lyric, I write it down immediately on my phone or in my notebook. I do the same if I start humming a vocal line or guitar part. Then, eventually, when I get to sit down with a guitar, I try to go through all those notes and see if anything has a common theme or feeling. It keeps me from that horrible staring-at-a-blank-page “O-god-will-I-ever-write-again??” feeling.
If you could guest on someone else’s album, who would it be and why? What would you play?
Currently, I’d wanna feature on something by IDLES and I’d want to scream in harmony with Joe.
Which other musicians/artist would you date?
My girlfriend ;)
Is there a band that if they didn’t exist you wouldn’t be making the music you make?
Probably Hole. Or Bikini Kill. The Courtney/Kathleen dichotomy is a perfect metaphor for the devil and the angel doing battle inside of me
What are some places around the world that you hope to play with your band?
Basically any and everywhere! We’ve yet to leave Brooklyn and are itching to get to the West Coast of the US. We also want to go to Europe. I think my absolute dream though, would be to tour Japan.
Some artists you recommend.
The Ophelias! Also, Mannequin Pussy, Pronoun, Julia Jacklin, IDLES, Connie Converse, FKA Twigs, Miss June, I’m sure I could name 100,000 more…
POM POM SQUAD IN THE (SOCIAL) MEDIA
Some good music videos
Find them on social media
What some other have said
"'Quiet grrrl punk'...a cute descriptor that doesn't reveal nearly enough about the multitudes contained within..." - FADER
"['Heavy Heavy' is] one of the best songs of the week...a mess of tangled guitars and a snarling outlook" - Stereogum
"Pom-Pom Squad shares their whole heart with us and its resounding heartbeat
sticks with you long after its conclusion." - Lauren Rearick (Teen Vogue, The Grey Estates)
"Really hits you deep in the gut...Screaming in the face of chaos never felt better" - Highsnobiety
"A constant in the Brooklyn indie scene, here to ignite tearful fits in fans with their vulnerable, lashing punk" - Thrillist
"College rock blasts with a feel-good, righteous end" - DIY Mag
