Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Watch: Pom Pom Squad Unleash "Popular (feat. Nada Surf)"

Brooklyn indie rock/riot grrrl/punk four-piece Pom Pom Squad have unleashed the video for their cover of Nada Surf classic "Popular".

Featuring Nada Surf singer/guitarist Matthew Caws, the new video took place at the Bayonne High School, the same place where the original “Popular” took place

“Working with Nada Surf was such a dream,” Mia Berrin said. “They’re such an incredible group of individuals and were so kind to everyone in PPS during our time out on tour together. It’s hard not to be inspired by their career, so to intersect with their legacy even a little bit is really special.

“I think the video is amazing! I love how it feels like a shot-for-shot recreation at the start but quickly takes on its own totally new character,“ Caws said in a statement of his own. “The original was shot in 1996, looking back at previous decades, while this one feels set in the present day, looking inwards and towards the future… another really cool aspect of the video is that the cheerleader character feels more and more sincere and human as the story develops. By the end, she’s much more than a player in a high school creation, she’s a person in the world and the singer of the song. To me there’s a “closed film” sense about Pom Pom Squad. Meaning that even if you could trace influences in their music, it feels as if they’ve invented it all themselves. They are their own world. That’s a trait I’ve felt in all my favorite bands: they’ve created their own reality.”

Watch/listen below.