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Polar Bear Club

The Redder, The Better (2006)
Triple Attack

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Contributed by: Anchors
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on June 2nd 2006

Rochester, New York strikes again.

First Achilles. Then How We Are. Now, Polar Bear Club.

The latter of those is an extremely gifted five-piece whose raw emotion and unrelenting power could have easily made them a staple of the mid-`90s emo scene. The dual vocals of Jimmy Stadt and Greg Odom provide the perfect contrast between a more sublime, melodic approach, and a much more intense, gruff vocal delivery. Comparisons to Hot Water music will surely be drawn in the vocal department, and while not entirely unwarranted, Polar Bear Club are able to separate themselves with some really dynamic songwriting elements present on each of the EP’s five amazing tracks.

Apparently staunch advocates of the “putting your best foot forward” policy, the upstate New York natives storm out of the gates with "Election Day," a song that displays vocal and musical dynamics that will surely be calls for the repeat button time and time again. The vigorous riffing sets the stage for Stadt’s emphatic delivery, and the subtle melodic undercurrents help to pull the entire picture into view. The pounding rhythms that help to usher in the chorus reverberate underneath the yells of "shiny roads, take me home, street lights illuminate the thoughts I can’t escape." The two vocalists are able to trade back and forth in a remarkably smooth and effortless fashion, giving each of the five songs much more depth than could have been provided by only having one.

The two songs following “Election Day” are terrific, but things really pick up with the anthemic “Parked in the Parking Lot.” After being lulled in by a quick atmospheric portion of the song, the intense vocals really kick the door down and let the band explore the more intense parts of their songwriting. Every methodical drum fill and every riff played perfectly compliments the song's rough-around-the-edges approach. Stadt reaches down to the real base of his vocal chords to pull out something strong in every single verse. “Most Miserable Life” rounds out this EP in fine fashion, with a chorus that’s simply impossible to not yell along with once you learn the words.

The one, and only reason this EP didn’t get a perfect score is because it just left me wanting it to be an album, left me wanting so badly to hear another five songs. There’s not a single bout of inconsistency or weakness in any of these five songs, it’s just as strong and cohesive a unit as these songs are on their own. Unquestionably, the best EP I’ve heard in years.

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racecargrin (April 28, 2010)

Best EP of its decade.

szmitu_rage (April 25, 2010)

asdf

stagediveshighfives (September 3, 2009)

This E.P. just never gets old.

johndiemer (March 5, 2009)

I never get tired of listening to this EP. Their live show is the only thing that tops it

assgoblin (December 7, 2008)

Most Miserable Life is epic as shit!

xdannylionx (August 3, 2007)

Amazing EP, fucking killer live.
go see em if you get the chance.
raw emotion you really have to look hard to find

nocigar (January 21, 2007)

forgot the score

nocigar (January 21, 2007)

wholy shit. this ep is fucking brillant.

aarontoben (October 23, 2006)

this album rips. everyone should buy it. i actually dont own it yet though. i saw scouts honor the other day and the drummer from polar bear club was playing for them on this tour until they find a permanent drummer. he kicks serious ass.

so thanks to scouts honor for getting me into these guys.

jamespastepunk (September 14, 2006)

4 out of the 5 songs are all mixtape of the year worthy.

This EP blew me away. Amazing. Buy it now. Trust me.

the_pro_from_dover (September 10, 2006)

Awesome band, awesome record.

Stefano (September 6, 2006)

Record of the year bitches!

Mute98 (June 6, 2006)

wow this review is pretty accurate.. i checked it out and i love it! its not even really my style but they do it really well

Flowbee (June 5, 2006)

This band rules so much. I listen to this EP at least twice daily. "Most Miserable Life" is probably my favorite song these days. Their demo is fucking incredible too and they have a great live show.

thefineprint (June 4, 2006)

i know the guitarist chris from my college. they definitely did get the name from the silent majority song.

Anonymous (June 4, 2006)

These guys are good i agree with that label thing, Defnitely see the sbb influence in there and thats awesome. That demo they have on my space is awesome.

Anonymous (June 4, 2006)

did they? They could have gotten the name from actual Polar Bear Clubs.

Anonymous (June 3, 2006)

I had never heard of this band until now, but this is awesome, and I will be picking up this album.

almostpunkenough (June 3, 2006)

holy ass cannon, this is fucking incredible. so much goddamn emotion.

Anonymous (June 3, 2006)

"you bet your sweet ass it's emo"

Anonymous (June 3, 2006)

they definitely got the name from a silent majority song. this ep fucking slays from start to finish. awesome dudes as well.

Anonymous (June 2, 2006)

AWESOME BAND.

-bryan styles

onegirlarmy (June 2, 2006)

.......apparently I don't know how to score things properly.

onegirlarmy (June 2, 2006)

This band/EP is so, so good.

and they may or may not have gotten the name from the Silent Majority song. If they did, that's awesome, but if not, it's still a good band name.

Anonymous (June 2, 2006)

guitarist from Marathon is in this band.

TheMarc (June 2, 2006)

Very good! Although, bears are godless killing machines.

johnrambo (June 2, 2006)

this is one of those bands that when you hear the music for the first time, you go... 'if i had a label, i would want this band to be on it.' other than this band, only one other band has ever made me say that to myself, and it was Marathon, who coincidentally, this band has ex-members of.

this cd is fucking solid. get it. if you like hot water music, small brown bike, saves the day, and tragedy mixed into one... you'll like this record.

Anonymous (June 2, 2006)

Someone took my comment about the band name being from a SM song. I miss them. Capital just doesn't do it for me. I loved Blood Red though.

relix (June 2, 2006)

Guess they got their name from the Silent Majority song.

Anonymous (June 2, 2006)

emo sucks

Anonymous (June 2, 2006)

better than the off minor ep?

Anonymous (June 2, 2006)

this band owns.

88-fingers-tony (June 2, 2006)

better than the falcon ep?

thats pretty much like seeing god