Image from “Spinning” music video

Pom Pom Squad previously teased ‘Mirror Starts Moving Without Me’ with the release of “Downhill”, a cheeky yet cutthroat look at the dualities of life’s obstacles and changes. “I was thinking a lot about the push-pull between those opposing sides of my personality, said Mia Berrin. “Sometimes being ambitious feels like being self-destructive and I wanted to explore the line between the two.”

“Downhill” was immediately met with critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone calling the track “a grunge-y summer stunner”, Paper saying it’s “a strong return from the band, rife with all the angst, wit and grit,” and the NY Times saying it “balances between regrets and the perverse pleasures of self-destruction.”

Elsewhere on the album finds Pom Pom Squad embracing their seductive campiness on “Street Fighter”, unleashing a ferocious bite on “Villain”, experimenting with where angst and pop collide on “Messages”, and exposing Berrin’s most vulnerable personal reflections on the lullaby-esque “Montauk”. But while the tracks of ‘Mirror Starts Moving Without Me’ unfurl like unique chapters in a book, they are all beautifully corseted together by Berrin’s songwriting which meets new artistic highs as she unravels her own meaning amidst sudden fame, euphoric peaks, and self-destructive spirals.

Berrin elaborates on the significance of the album’s title: “the album title is inspired by a horror movie trope and relates to the uncanny feeling of seeing yourself reflected — both literally and figuratively. It was my most challenging creative experience to date and a true labor of love.” 

On her creative inspirations for the album, Berrin says: “I took a lot of inspiration from my younger self on this album. I wanted to get back in touch with my creative roots. After hitting a particularly rough bout of writer’s block, I challenged myself to make a playlist of my all-time favorite songs from childhood to adulthood. It was healing in a way I didn’t expect! Before we went into the studio I made my bandmates and Cody do the same, then we all listened to each other’s and had a long conversation about them. Through the sessions for Mirror we were all pulling references from our collective playlists more than anything else.”