Rochester, New York's Polar Bear Club have been around the block for quite some time. Dishing out heartfelt and energetic post-hardcore anthems in vein of influences like Hot Water Music, Piebald, The Weakerthans and Saves the Day, Polar Bear Club is a timeless group that have released consistent albums that stay true to their roots. With quirky narrative lyrics to compliment their innovative and sincere punk sound, listeners cannot help but scream their lungs out to their favorite songs until their throats go red.
Even though it's been a while since we have heard from the Polar Bear Club camp, since the release of their full-length, Clash Battle Guilt Pride, this month we are introduced to the release of their Rise Records debut, Death Chorus. When details of this release were first announced back in August, some PBC fans may have been caught off-guard to find out that the band moved on from Bridge Nine Records to Rise. However, regardless of this transition, Polar Bear Club once again brings to the table another wholesome release that continues right where they left off with CBGP.
One of the album's first singles, "Blood Balloon", starts off Death Chorus with a melodic introduction that builds up with the opening drum and bass lines to get the blood pumping. A distinct attribute that appears to be missing on this album is the incorporation of vocalist Jimmy Stadt's hoarse and aggressive vocal variation that has constantly stood out to raspy-voiced-punk-lovers of their earlier work.
However, Stadt's cleaner vocal tone suits well with softer songs on this record, while providing harmonizing charisma to compliment their faster songs. For instance, songs like "So I Buy" and "Chicago Spring" are calm tracks that engage listeners with progressive hooks and easy-going leads that blissfully compliment Stadt's vocals. Another prime example that truly captures the comforting sound of Stadt's clean vocal tone as well is the interluding track, "Siouxsie Jeanne", a blissful star-gazing ballad that will melt your heart and may possibly make you shed a tear.
While there are many soothing tracks that alternate back and forth from the band's traditionally-energetic sound, there are plenty of standalone tracks that provide enthusiastic qualities that carry over from their previous album. "For Show" is the defining track on Death Chorus that introduces an energetic tone, which keeps listeners on their feet from start to finish; it's a song that definitely stands out lyrically, especially with peculiar lines like "You bought a Zippo at the mall just to piss whoever off/But those instincts never hold long enough to buy the lighter fluid/So you spark it off alone", that are smack-dab in the middle of the second verse. There is no doubt that listeners will immediately have a warm smile on their face every time that song gets stuck in their head. From its upbeat tempo walking hand in hand with blistering chords, "For Show" is a lighthearted track that will remind listeners of when they first heard older PBC songs like "Screams In Caves" or "Burned Out In A Jar".
Another song that stands out lyrically on Death Chorus is the grand finale, "Upstate Mosquito". In some aspects, "Upstate Mosquito" is a song that dwells on finding acceptance through settling with current surroundings. While the lines "So here were are, upstate mosquitoes, weary of this season's change" may pierce right through listeners who feel out of touch with where they came form, Stadt provides hopeful lines like "Thinking back on our favorite regrets that kept us all from dying for dead dreams", to hold onto.
These lines may provide similar feelings that could be recognizable from a song like "I'll Never Leave New York" (from CBGP). In the song "I'll Never Leave New York", the lines, "We're doing fine/Now and here won't fade this time" provide listeners with the comfort of growing as individual. In retrospect, how this song parallels with "I'll Never Leave New York", "Upstate Mosquito" reassures listeners that no matter how much of an uphill fight your past may have been, there is no doubt that the path that traveled help guide to where you would like to be.
From start to finish, Death Chorus is an album in which you would become blissfully attached to each song without skipping a single note. As "Upstate Mosquito" fades off into its final chords, listeners will gladly go back to the beginning of the record in a heartbeat and play it again. Once again, Polar Bear Club crafts together another unique record that signifies their progression and growth as individuals and as musicians. While staying true to their traditional energetic sound, PBC definitely reflects back on elements of their previous work with the release of Death Chorus and also provide innovative dynamics to their sound that keeps diehard fans coming back for more.
Tracklist:
1. Blood Balloon
2. Graph Paper Glory Days
3. So I Buy
4. For Show
5. Siouxsie Jeanne
6. WLWYCD
7. Chicago Spring
8. When We Were College Kids
9. Twang (Blister To Burn)
10. Upstate Mosquito
RIYL: Caution by Hot Water Music, Avalanche United by I Am The Avalanche, Everything You Ever Loved by Make Do And Mend, Left And Leaving by The Weakerthans, The Light Under Closed Doors by The Swellers
Rating:
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