Recently, I've been finding a bunch of sick new bands that build on Hot Water Music's gruff lyrical sound into something of apost-hardcore/pop-core hybrid. Although there were other contenders, like Houston's O Pioneers!!! or New York's Bridge and Tunnel, none of the post-hardcore heroes landed the blow quite as solidly as New York's Polar Bear Club.
Polar Bear Club mixes lush, gentle melodies with gruff, abrasive breakdowns. In the more melodic moments, PBC utilizes complex and lightly distorted guitar, complemented by lead singer Jimmy Stadt's bipolar (stop it, that pun was made on accident) vocal stylings. In the next moment, PBC turns into a freight train of HWM-influenced power, bursting at the seams with emotion and hooks. At times, PBC busts into full post-hardcore glory with huge, sweeping riffs and unpredictable movements.
PBC recently released its first full length, Sometimes Things Just Disappear, and I highly recommend you pick it up. Definitely up there in the running for best of 2008.
The only thing that I dislike about PBC is the name...lately, I need everything in my arsenal to keep my mind off the shitshow that has been Chicago's winter thus far. Think warm, happy thoughts. Maybe they could change the name to Gigantic African Sweaty Hippopotamus Association or something. Okay, that's not my best idea. Anyone have a better one?
Download 05 Burned Out in a Jar
"Is this a bad chase dream where speed's not what it seems? / The pedal's pressed, but nothing works. / Bite your nails 'til your fingers hurt."
- Polar Bear Club, "Hollow Place"
