Back from Nowhere
Artist: Polarboy
Label: Rustproof Records
Length: 40:11 min.
The members of Polarboy, who met while studying to be youth ministers at Lexington Baptist College in Kentucky, began their musical careers performing at church youth assemblies and worship services. These early shows led to concerts at a more varied list of venues in Kentucky and the neighboring states, including a fall 1996 show at Rocketown Club in Nashville where the band members met talent scout Greg Menza. Enlisting Menza as their manager and performing at the 1998 Gospel Music Association Convention, the band was signed to Rustproof Records to record Back from Nowhere, their debut album.
Musically, the album falls broadly into the alternative pop category with the songs mostly being built around acoustic guitar textures coupled to tense, wandering bass lines and an often plaintive vocal delivery. For the most part, the instrumental work on the album is both energetic and infectious, but a good part of this energy is offset by the tendency to change the basic groove of each song too often. The stereotypical '70s wah-wah guitar effects of "Nickels for Green Eyed Girls" and the playful, '60s era vocal work on "In My Shoes," for example, infuse each piece with a heaped measure of retro pop buoyancy. But where the dynamic quality of the opening lines of "In My Shoes" is retained from nearly start to finish, successive shifts in time signature and musical style in "Nickels" and, indeed, the majority of the rest of the songs on the album, overturn the momentum created by their opening verses, leaving these numbers feeling as if they never quite come off the starting block.
Just as the musical attack on the debut album is often meandering, the lyrics too, suffer in places from the same sense of disjointedness. To be fair, the group uses a direct rather than an obtuse approach to the bulk of its songs, and the band's choice of general themes like dating, temptation and the love of money should resonate with both believers and nonbelievers alike. But where the subject matter for the album is certainly straightforward and familiar enough, the exact sentiment being conveyed on any particular song is, as frequently as not, obscured by unclear and often conflicting wording. "Do You Think," for example, uses emotive wording to describe feelings of lonliness and separation using the familiar story of Adam and Eve as a backdrop. But vaguely worded lines such as "Over the battle field to the end/Seems to me I thought, my friend, that we'll never know quite sure when" tend to mute the melancholy sentiment that the song seeks to convey. And the rapid shift in tone from mournful to nearly sarcastic causes "Nickels for Green Eyed Girls" to come across as more feigned than sincere.
Despite its various shortcomings, though, the album does have more than one jewel in its catalog. "I'll Try," with its opening acoustic guitar and vocals that positively bound out of the starting gate, and "Four Leaf Clover," which boasts soaring harmonies and a beautiful arpeggioed melody line, both stand as veritable templates for excellent power pop music. And the incisive comparison on "Babystarr" between a man's wishing for a passing woman's attention and God's longing for our own affection proves that the band is indeed capable of profound lyrical statements. In fact, crafting a superior follow-up album looks as if it could be done fairly easily by simply rummaging through the many combinations of musical and lyrical styles on the debut, choosing one that best suits the band, and then exploring it fully.
By Bert Gangl (10/8/98)
Disclaimer: After reading my review of their Radio Special
Disk (a collection of singles from Polarboy's debut album that was
prepared for radio disc-jockeys), Rustproof Records opted to have me review
the actual album. Since the singles collection contained seven of the ten
songs found on the debut album, my estimation of the band is very nearly
the same. Consequently, this review is a lot like the last one, only more
accurate.
Polarboy occupy a space on the musical map somewhere between Collective
Soul, Counting Crows, Hootie & The Blowfish, Spin Doctors, Third Day,
Vigilantes of Love, and The Monkees (yes, there is a common thread there...).
They are also gratefully unique enough that none of these influences slap
you upside the ears. Having created their own sound by melding these divergent
influences into an accessible and popular rock format, and being a group
of handsome young men with a deliberate and commendable mission, they are
now poised to be the next Big Thing. If they continue to mature as well
as they've begun, a successful marketing campaign should get them to the
top of the heap and in this case, being the next Big Thing would be a good
thing.
Polarboy's real strengths lie in a few areas. Firstly, the lead-singer,
Pol, has an incredible voice with a decent range and pleasant appeal. It's
not overly distinctive, but he uses it effectively and interestingly at
all times. Secondly, the band has written some fine lyrics geared primarily
for the youth group and college set, but with the same care and surprising
maturity that Jars of Clay demonstrates. For example, "Do You Think" is
a clever song conjuring Adam's pain at losing Eve late in life. Additionally,
the lyrics to "I'll Try, while not up to Bill Mallonee/Mark Heard standards,
offer a commendable plea to God to help avoid the mistakes of the "music
business." My favorite lyrics are from "Nickels for Green Eyed Girls" which
suggests all forms of financial fortitude require the Lord's oversight,
but one of their other strongest points, worth remembering, comes from
"Four
Leaf Clover:"
