Song Of The Week: 7/6/14

Song: "3/4 Tango"

Artist: Polar Bear Club

Album: "Clash Battle Guilt Pride"

Year: 2011



"3/4 Tango" is a song that appears to be about wondering whether you made the right decisions in your life. Are you looking back on life and finding more and more that it's not what you thought it would be, or wanted it to be? The vocalist definitely harbors some regrets while reflecting on these things. At the same time, however, he or she does not appreciate others who try to tell them how to live their life or those who make comments on their situation. Those people that do that, to take advantage of someone else's problems, are the one's who need to look at themselves in the mirror instead of criticizing someone else's actions or inactions. Polar Bear Club formed as a band back in 2005, hailing from upstate New York. After recording a five song demo, the band caught the attention of Triple Attack Records who signed the band in 2006 and released the EP "The Redder, The Better". A buzz was being created by this demo and EP and in 2007, Polar Bear Club signed with Red Leader Records and released their debut full length album, "Sometimes Things Just Disappear". This album earned the band supporting slots on tours with The Gaslight Anthem, American Steel and A Wilhelm Scream to name a few. In 2009, Bridge Nine Records signed Polar Bear Club and released their second album, "Chasing Hamburg". This album featured the single "Living Saints". In 2010, Polar Bear Club earned a slot on the Hevy Music Festival in the United Kingdom. 2011 saw the band perform for the first time in Australia where they earned a slot on the famous Soundwave Festival. In 2011, the band also released their third full length album, "Clash Battle Guilt Pride". This album featured songs such as "My Best Days", "Killin' It" and "Screams In Caves". 2012 saw the band play both the Leeds and Reading Festivals in England. The band also released their very first live album, "Live At The Montage". This album was a live acoustic performance that was recorded for release. In 2013, the band released their latest album, "Death Chorus". This album featured the songs "WLWYCD", "Blood Balloon" and "Upstate Mosquito". Fans of the band may notice that on this album vocalist Jimmy Stadt's vocals are less raspy and more clear. Due to straining his voice on the road over the years, Stadt was forced to sing cleaner in order to hit certain notes and more importantly, to save his vocal chords. Currently, Polar Bear Club finished up 2013 on tour supporting "Death Chorus". There has been no talk as of the past couple of months that the band is working on new material or not. The band is pretty active though, so I suspect it won't be long to hear some new Polar Bear Club music in the near future. For fans of bands like The Gaslight Anthem, Lifetime, Hot Water Music, The Flatliners and The Menzingers, Polar Bear Club is a punk band with lots of similarties to those bands I've mentioned. Really solid band. I do wish Stadt's voice can get back to what it was before "Death Chorus" though. Only time will tell.