Polar Bear Club – Chasing Hamburg

‘Chasing Hamburg’ has been one of the most anticipated alternative releases of 2009, following the somewhat unexpected popularity of ‘Sometimes Things Just Disappear’. This popularity is no doubt set to continue to rise and fill the bands packed touring schedule to the maximum.

The album fires out of the blocks with opener ‘See the Wind’ showcasing a straight up abrasive punk/rock sound. Instantly noticeable is the use of production compared with the bands previous efforts. This is not a particularly polished album, but then again, it isn’t meant to be. The rough edge given to the music now piles onto the already gravelly vocals of Jimmy Stadt giving every track an intensity required from a ten song album.

More melodic moments come on the album in the shape of tracks such as ‘Living Saints’ and ‘One Hit Back’. The latter revealing itself towards the conclusion of the album is a genius stroke, as it already sets you up wanting a repeat listen of the album. With a perfect dosage of pop injected, Polar Bear Club display more depth to their talents with their ability to draw in a further audience.

‘Drifting Thing’ and ‘Song to Persona’ also alter the structure of the album with the former consisting primarily of vocals and a palm muted guitar, it acts as a sort of ballad, in a different way to the typical ballad. ‘Song to Persona’ slows the tempo down, and fully expands itself within the last 30 seconds, as the song builds to a well constructed vocal driven outro.

The self-titled final track on the album suitably wraps up proceedings on a job well done. If you want a solid album consisting of no nonsense modern punk rock, then you should listen to ‘Chasing Hamburg’. If you haven’t listened to Polar Bear Club before, listening to ‘Sometimes Things Just Disappear’ would probably be advisable to get the full picture of where the band have been, where they are now and where they are headed. There is no doubt that they can have another big year with this album.

Polar Bear Club – Manchester Moho Live 3rd June 2009

Four months after a support slot on The Gaslight Anthems headline tour, Polar Bear Club return for their own first UK headline tour. Tonight sees a decent turnout from the crowd for the second to last show of the tour with support acts Defeater and Ruiner.

First main support Defeater provide a welcome opening, lifting songs mainly from their debut album ‘Travels’. Finishing the set with album closer ‘Cowardice’, the band look set to fill the void left in the hardcore scene by the recently departed Verse.

Ruiner also put in a solid set, with their no nonsense hardcore. This is their third time in the UK, and they appear to building a solid fanbase, with a new LP to be released later on in the year.

All that is left is for Polar Bear Club to take the stage and finish off the night in style, which they do with ease. ‘Eat Dinner, Bury the Dog, and Run’ opens the set, and the band are on top form supported by a perfect sound setup from the off, which is a rarity. Ploughing through favourites such as ‘Election Day’, ‘Hollow Place’ and ‘Another Night in the Rock’, Polar Bear Club really know how to have fun with a live performance, complete with a stage-diving panda.

‘Most Miserable Life’ concludes the night’s festivities with a stage invasion of twenty people swamping vocalist Jimmy Stadt and screaming the intro in his absence. It is definitely one of the most enjoyable performances of the year so far, fulfilling everyone’s appetite that was teased by the short support slot with The Gaslight Anthem.

Returning to the UK for the Reading and Leeds Festival in August, hopefully Polar Bear Club will receive a good reception there, and build on their rapidly expanding fanbase. With their second album ‘Chasing Hamburg’ to be released on Bridge Nine records in September, 2009 looks set to be a great year for this band, and deservedly so.

Polar Bear Club – Sometimes Things Just Disappear

With their second album ‘Chasing Hamburg’ set to be released in September this year, Polar Bear Club have risen in popularity with a combination of their 2008 release ‘Sometimes Things Just Disappear’ and hard work. Seen in the UK supporting The Gaslight Anthem in February and on their headline tour in June, the band look set to experience success in the very near future.

‘Sometimes Things Just Disappear’ is an album of ten, solid rock tracks. There is nothing particularly complex or demanding about it, but Polar Bear Club write good melodies and Jimmy Stadt adds his rough vocals into the mix. The vocals are an aspect which may put people off the band, but personally, I think they are used in a manner in which they are not too overwhelming due to the great use of melodies.

Opening track ‘Eat Dinner, Bury the Dog, and Run’ opens in a calm fashion until the band stomps their usual authority onto it. A crunching riff repeats over with the aforementioned rough vocals. When I first listened to the album, it seemed an unusual choice for an opening song, but after repeated listens it fits perfectly well with the shape of the whole album. Next track ‘Hollow Place’ helps the flow of the record with a drum based introduction leading into a mid-tempo rhythm. The chorus demonstrates the band’s ability to write really good melodies. The gruff vocals are swapped for a smoother sound, and an instantly memorable chorus follows.

‘The Bug Parade’ and ‘Another Night in the Rock’ are usually a couple of the most entertaining songs to see the band perform live. Backing vocals are a large feature of the album, and in a live environment Polar Bear club usually hand these duties over the crowd. On record they sound just as good though, and perform an integral part of the band’s sound. The latter of the two tracks mentioned portrays a sense of loneliness in the lyrical matter, but as a song, it gets across the message in the form of a more upbeat sound.

Another appeal of the album is that it doesn’t ever dip, there are no weak songs in the middle of the album, it is consistently impressive. ‘Burned Out in a Jar’ continues in the same vein as the opening section of the album before giving way to ‘As ’twere the Mirror’, a self-confessed love song. It is not as typical as it sounds though, the band have created a song which has a verse as catchy as the chorus, which is a rarity. The middle section of the song is an example of the simplicity of Polar Bear Club’s music being effective. The lead guitar riffs are simple in most places, but used to compliment the music as a whole and layered in a way that adds to the songs as a whole, rather than to just show off individual talent.

As the album continues, there is a sense of urgency injected into the tracks ‘Our Ballads’ and ‘Heart Attack at Thirty’. Recently telling the story of ‘Our Ballads’, Stadt explained how somebody once told the band that girls would never like their songs. The lyrics ‘So you’re saying that a female only listens to ballads and love songs? The girls that I know wouldn’t think so.’ are quite directly a reference to this person and their incorrect judgement.

Final track ‘Convinced I’m Wrong’ is the ballad of the album and does bring the album to a soaring close. Beginning with an acoustic backing and the lightest vocal usage on the album, the song hits in after one minute with a emotion-packed chorus. The vocals are pushed as far as they will go, and the honest lyrics really do make it a huge ending track to a really solid album.

It is not by luck that this band are experiencing some amount of success currently, because they really do deserve it. They create, catchy punk/rock songs with a balanced dose of bite in them to make them appealing to fans of many genres. The release of ‘Chasing Hamburg’ on Bridge Nine Records should build on this and their previous EP ‘The Redder, The Better’ and obtain them more exposure, and no doubt in turn boost their fan base even further.