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Birthday Image
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The debut full-length release from the Norwegian band features influences from experimental hip-hop, indie/noise/punk rock, and West African music.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Mar 15, 2019
    90
    Pom Poko is a band that refuses to make predictable choices. Their music contains no clean lines or pat conclusions. Birthday is an audacious debut album that is as messy and comforting as an unmade bed.
  2. 80
    There’s a sensitive soul underneath Birthday’s hyperactive bounce, and it tends to come out clearest when Pom Poko find a sweet spot and stay there for a minute.
  3. 80
    You’ll love it, or you’ll hate it, you’ll have no idea what’s going on, but revel in the fact that a debut like this is allowed to exist.
  4. Dec 13, 2019
    70
    For an album that hinges on frantic idea swapping, Birthday manages to consistently surprise, making it something of a celebration of kooky guitar-driven pop, all the while maintaining momentum and a sense of unbridled joy.
  5. Mar 15, 2019
    60
    Students of jazz, but with a love of avant-garde art punk and West African music, Pom Poko bring something chaotic to the table. ... But this is their bread and butter; the kaleidoscopic realm in which they thrive.
  6. Mar 15, 2019
    60
    There is a delight in the frivolity that is unabashed in its goal of primal regression and targeting of the id. But this perpetually "in the red" energy level is both the charm and biggest fault of this album, as by the end you find yourself wishing that the finish was a little way back.
Score distribution:
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