ALBUM REVIEW: Poor Bambi - Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We’re Drowning

Norwegian rockers Poor Bambi really know how to immerse you in sound. Their music has a knack for making you lose yourself in the middle of a dense sonic whirlwind and this has never been more true that on their debut album ‘Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We’re Drowning’. 

The title track opens the proceedings with an instant wall of noise! A cacophony of densely layered guitar textures and thrashing drums unleash hell and immediately trap you in a dramatic Punk Rock tension. The verses build an angsty suspense while the chorus has an anthemic, expansive sound. As the title of the track suggests, the instrumentals soar and get drown you at the same time.  

‘Midtown Madness’ then follows this up with a track that’s even harsher, leaning into heavy gothic tones and fully letting the frustration of the album radiate outwards.

As the album goes on you realise the bands ability for tonal dynamics, often switching between huge, aggressive chorus’ and much more subdued, gloomy verses that draw you into a shoegazey lull before exploding into Grunge Rock energy once again. ‘You Were My Lifetime’ is particularly good at doing this.

The highlight of the album for us has to be ‘Let Me Speak’, a track that has their most infectious groove and most earworming hooks. It sees the band enter into a Dance Punk world, driven with a huge drum beat that you can’t help but stomp along to. The winding guitar had a darkly cinematic drama while the vocals are bold and punchy. It’s a true anthem built for packed out live shows.

Lyrically the album is cutting, vocally it’s raw and direct and instrumentally it’s all consuming. A real powerhouse of a record and one of our favourite scandi discoveries in recent times.