Album of the Week: Pooma

Pooma
Persuader
Next Big Thing
Myspace

On Persuader, Helsinki-based quintet Pooma have produced one of the standout full-lengths of the year, continuing the now commonplace trend of spectacular releases from Scandinavian bands. The fact that Persuader is Pooma's debut offering, however, marks the band as anything but typical. The level of creativity and musicianship presented throughout the course of the album's 50 minutes are in fact the product of two years of adjustments and fine-tuning, ultimately lending to the solid and overall polished feel of Persuader. While Pooma do draw from a number of diverse influences, their sound comes off as original and unforced; the primary success being the band's creation of a distinct signature of dark atmospheric textures laced with ethereal vocals and intriguing rhythms. This unique template of sorts is then applied over more palpable elements from a number of sources, ranging from the trip-hop inspired "They Won't Come Back" to the cinematic, almost post-rock like compositions of "The Shore" and "All Worked Out". The majority of tracks follow a middle-ground, seamlessly blending down-tempo melancholic moments with portions rich in fuzz and distortion. Nowhere else is this style utilized more effectively than on album-standout "Snow." On possibly the paramount track released this year, Pooma construct a wall-of-sound framework utilized by so many contemporary bands, the difference here being Pooma's perfection of the craft. Ambient passages naturally slip into intense, noisy swells anchored by soaring vocals, all the while centered around the band's exceptional sense of melody. Indeed, the album as a whole casts a large shadow on most other bands attempting to merge tradtional rock with more experimental tendencies. In the future, the band will undoubtedly look to expand and develop their sound, an intimidating thought given the already-refined talent demonstrated on Persuader.