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Review

Polar Bear

Peepers

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by Ian Mann

March 10, 2010

/ ALBUM

Polar Bear continue to expand their distinctive sound world with arguably their best album to date

The fourth album from the remarkable band led by drummer and composer Sebastian Rochford shows the group still developing their unique sound world on a series of ten new Rochford compositions plus a couple of (very) brief improvisations.

This latest offering sees the band moving labels yet again, this time to the Leeds based Leaf. The group’s personnel remains more stable with Rochford again being joined by the twin tenor sax front line of Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart plus double bassist Tom Herbert and Leafcutter John on electronics and occasional guitar. Wareham, Lockheart and Herbert have been with the group since its inception, Leafcutter joining for the second album, the Mercury nominated “Held On The Tips Of Fingers”, in 2005.

“Peepers” is a more focussed record than the sprawling, arguably over long (but still very good) eponymous third album released on the Tin Angel label in 2008. This time Rochford has gone for the simple approach in the studio in an attempt to capture something of the energy of Polar Bear’s live performances. Some of these tunes, notably “Hope Every Day Is A Happy New Year” and “Want To Believe Everything” have been in the group’s live repertoire for some time but with regard to the newer material Rochford didn’t present the music to the band until just before entering the studio. The recorded evidence suggests that Rochford’s espousal of the spontaneous approach has worked particularly well. There is a joy and urgency in the playing that seemed to be missing last time round. “Peepers” might just be the band’s most accessible album to date.

Rochford is a legendarily busy musician always with several projects always going on simultaneously including his own Fulborn Teversham and Room Of Katinas, Wareham’s Acoustic Ladyland plus sideman gigs with a distinguished array of jazzers and rockers including Oriole, Julia Biel, Ingrid Laubrock, Tim Richards, Andy Sheppard, Herbie Hancock, Bojan Z, Basquiat Strings,Pete Doherty, Yoko Ono, Brian Eno and David Byrne plus many,many more.

Nonetheless Polar Bear remains his main creative outlet and his writing on “Peepers” remains as quirky and individualistic as ever. Rochford has a firm grasp of modern musical developments grime,dubstep etc. and introduces elements of this into his writing, particularly in the beats he produces from behind his drum kit. Equally he’s influenced by the classic sounds of the past, Rochford was listening to a lot of old school soul (Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye) prior to the recording and the “live in the studio” approach partly came from that. Then there’s the death metal of his youth, the melodicism of Oregon and Andy Sheppard, the admiration for jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. All these influences combine to produce something unique. Rochford’s melodies have a na?ve, almost nursery rhyme quality about them but the unusual instrumental line up of Polar Bear puts muscular flesh on the bones and Rochford’s childlike sense of wonder is balanced by the dark hued tones of the twin saxophones and the mighty rumble of Herbert’s bass. Rochford famously chose the name Polar Bear because the creatures are perceived as being fluffy and cuddly whilst simultaneously being extremely dangerous. It’s an almost perfect encapsulation of what you hear in the band’s music,simple, sometimes playful tunes with dark, brooding arrangements. It’s a unique sound and one that has earned the group, in jazz terms at least, a large and dedicated following.

The music on “Peepers” is immediately recognisable as Polar Bear but this time an extra element has been added to the group’s signature sound. Electronics maverick Leafcutter John is increasingly heard on electric guitar, a development that owes something to his parallel solo career in the field of folktronica. It adds an extra dimension to the group’s sound and reveals Polar Bear to be a band that continues to develop and push the musical boundaries.

“Peepers” kicks off with “Happy For You” an attention grabbing opener that features Rochford’s polyrhythmic drumming, garrulous sax interplay and what sounds like Dick Dale style surf guitar. I’d assumed this was the work of Leafcutter but I have read that the guitar sound was in fact created via Tom Herbert’s bass. Whatever its provenance it’s a delightful touch and one that helps get the album off to a great start.

“Bap Bap Bap” is based around the groove developed by the combination of Rochford’s drums and choppy, dub reggae like rhythm guitar. The two saxes weave their magic over the top. In Rochford’s terms this is a comparatively simple piece and one that wouldn’t have been out of place on the band’s début album “Dim Lit”.

“Drunken Pharoah” is an apt title for a piece that lurches along in an uncannily accurate aural picture of the stagger of the extremely inebriated. Bottle like clankings, woozy saxophone and unsettling electronic embellishments all combine to potent effect. It’s like a contemporary version of the Mastermind theme “Approaching Menace” which was once described as being like “a drunken man with a wooden leg coming down the stairs”. Whether this was in Rochford’s mind when he wrote the piece is unclear but it’s a delightful piece of surreal fun and an item that’s likely to become something of a live favourite I would imagine.

The beautiful “The Love Didn’t Go Anywhere” couldn’t be more different in mood and feel. Lusciously textured it’s said to be based on the classic early edition of Roxy Music with Bryan Ferry’s croon replaced by the sombre lines of the two reeds. Leafcutter’s shimmering guitar and electronica see him taking the Eno role. Rochford’s blog mentions him listening to the first Roxy album so it’s easy to see where this hypothesis comes from. In effect this is the album’s “big ballad”, but it’s an adventurous and thoroughly absorbing one. This is the most chillingly beautiful piece the group have ever recorded. 

“A New Morning Will Come” sustains something of the mood with saxes and electronics sketching long melodic lines above Rochford’s hip hop style grooves and shifting drum accents. It’s another affecting and often moving piece, other worldly yet delightfully melodic. 

The title track is a jaunty little item with a syncopated rock beat, staccato saxes and twangy guitar colourings. There’s a honking tenor solo (Wareham at a guess) and the whole thing is great fun.

“Bump” and “Scream” both at under a minute in length are tantalising snatches of group improvisations, the writing credits being attributed to the whole band.

“Hope Every Day Is A Happy New Year” is one of the older items, an initially exuberant item that begins by sounding like souped up circus music. There’s a darker, guttural sax interlude mid tune adorned by Leafcutter’s spooky electronics and finally a spacey, minimalist coda.

“Want To Believe Everything” deploys gently lilting saxophones above Rochford’s shuffling percussive beats and Herbert’s loping bass groove.

“Finding Our Feet” is perhaps the albums most distinctive cut. Leafcutter’s droning, treated vocals are reminiscent of the call of the muezzin and form a sonic backdrop throughout the whole track. The two saxes murmur darkly and Rochford’s drumming is minimalistic but profoundly colourful.

After the unsettling nature of the previous item the gently drifting “All Here” with it’s soaring saxes ends the album on an elegiac note. It’s a kind of anthem without words played with surprising tenderness by this most idiosyncratic of bands.

“Peepers” is a marked return to form and sees Polar Bear continuing to expand their distinctive sound world on arguably their best album to date. Rochford’s writing continues to mature but without sacrificing any of it’s left field quirkiness and his approach to the recording process has injected a real sense of urgency and inventiveness to the music. The band will be gigging extensively over the summer of 2010 including festival performances at Cheltenham and the Mostly Jazz Festival in Birmingham. On the evidence of this album their live appearances should make for compulsive viewing and listening.

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