VIENNA, September, 28, 2011 —The opening track on Polar Bear Club’s new album Clash Battle Guilt Pride is “Pawner.” In Pawner, lead singer Jimmy Stadt declares “I’ve gotta take my grab at some great.”
That’s exactly what Polar Bear Club appears to be doing on this album. The band’s attempt is to make something big and if everything works out for them, something important.
Polar Bear Club has been evolving as a band since they released their first EP The Redder the Better five years ago. Back in 2006, their sound was on the edge of punk with slight hardcore undertones. Since then, the band has been moving closer towards a straight forward hard rock sound.
This new release is a culmination of that shift and if one is wondering what arena rock sounds like with a punk/hardcore twist, they shouldn’t have to look much further than Clash Battle Guilt Pride. A lot of fans of both the band and the genres they draw from might be turned off slightly by that description, mainly because it brings up an image of overproduce bands and silly posturing. T
hat isn’t the case here.
The association seems a bit odd for another reason. The sound on the album is muted somewhat compared to what someone would expect from a traditional arena rock band. It’s not hard to imagine them coming off much louder and bigger given a larger setting. The touch on the album is defter, which surprisingly comes from their punk/hardcore roots.
What might keep them from larger arenas or even embracing the expansive arena rock sound completely is the most recognizable part of the band. Despite the band’s ever evolving sound, the one constant since the band’s inception is the vocals of Jimmy Stadt.
His gruff growl is the first noticeable thing on any Polar Bear Club album and it’s also what most obviously keeps one foot firmly planted in the punk/hardcore scene.
This is unintentional, but it’s the only place where his vocal delivery would seem to fit. It makes the contrast from the shift from punk/hardcore to hard rock interesting. Stadt’s vocals wouldn’t suggest a wide range, and in truth he doesn’t have one, but what he excels at his subtle changes in tone to highlight various aspects of each song.
Stadt is able to effectively go from shout along choruses to heartfelt moments of introspection.
Even with the constant and subtle shifts in sound from album to album, Clash Battle Guilt Pride shows what Polar Bear Club has grown into. Their lyrics still function as a window into the band’s soul. As a group, they still wear their heart on their sleeves, whether they talk about various relationships or the music scene in general.
They also manage to skirt an issue which held their last album Chasing Hamburg from achieving its apex. The middle portion of that album became slightly monotonous and it was never able to recover.
Clash Battle Guilt Pride doesn’t have the same down points and while it doesn’t have the obvious single like “Living Saints,” the entire album is consistently solid for eleven tracks though Polar Bear Club doesn’t quite succeed in reaching the great heights the opening song might suggest.
Not because of anything misplaced or done wrong on the album, but it doesn’t hit the listener instantly taking a few listens to really hit home. When it does finally sink in, the album becomes something special.
It’s a solid progressive effort for a band still hitting their stride.
Punk and hardcore can be incredibly limiting genres at times.
For most bands of Polar Bear Club’s ilk, it’s impossible to stay in one place and remain musically viable. Genre bands trying branch out, while keeping their sound fresh without messing with their core sound too much.
Over the years, it’s produced some interesting results. More often than not it’s worth the risk as the break the mold that is their sound, which can alienate their audience.
Luckily Polar Bear Club never seems to exceed their reach while pushing the envelope with Clash Battle Guilt Pride.
Stephen Bradley is an avid music listener. Read more of his work in Riffs at the Washington Times Communities.
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