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By Cassie Gressell
Published: April 22, 2008
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EmailBand: Polar Bear Club
Album: Sometimes Things Just Disappear
Label: Red Leader
Overall Score: 3.5/5
During the lead-up to their first full-length release, Sometimes Things Just Disappear, Polar Bear Club found themselves the focus of a sudden rush of attention. No matter how many times over we’ve seen it, there’s just something instantly attractive about a band that is able to truly take all of the grit that today’s version of punk requires and combine it with strong, occasionally unique musicianship. Polar Bear Club does just that. The ten tracks of Sometimes Things Just Disappear run rampant with the kind of energy and rawness that leads directly to the listener making a silent promise to themselves that seeing this band live is getting pushed up their list of priorities.
Pretty much any review you could possibly read of this album will instantly draw a comparison between Polar Bear Club and Hot Water Music. This isn’t due to some awkward conspiracy where critics are sitting around in a circle and taking a vote on which bands to pair up next to each other. It’s just the kind of similarity that dives right through the speakers at you. Absolutely any song on this album would be able to serve as an example of this, but let’s just go with opening track “Eat Dinner, Bury The Dog, And Run”. Here we find churning guitars, crashing drums, and impassioned shouts from front man Jimmy Stadt that feel like they could have been ripped straight from dozens of Hot Water Music tracks.
Before anyone jumps in and says “So, basically, Polar Bear Club are Hot Water Music doppelgangers”, dismiss that thought. While the influence is obvious, and not pointing it out would be an extreme omission on my end, Polar Bear Club prove themselves as a strong, talented band in their own right numerous times throughout Sometimes Things Just Disappear. Whether it be the rough yet catchy chorus of “As ‘Twere The Mirror”, the near flawless trade-off between melodic vocals and gritty shouts on “Another Night In The Rock”, or the sudden vulnerability leading up to a downright blisteringly emotional performance of “Convinced I’m Wrong”, Polar Bear Club has more than a handful of tricks to back them up.
Sometimes Things Just Disappear leads to one logical conclusion: sometimes things are just good. And sometimes we all just have to agree on that. Polar Bear Club is every bit as gritty and genuine as could be hoped for coming out of today’s scene – maybe even more so – and as a result, even if you’re not a die-hard fan of the style, there’s just something about this band that is bound to impress.
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