Every once in awhile a new band comes down the pike and reaffirms your love for music. A couple years ago it was Crime in Stereo before they decided to become Brand New. This year's candidate is Rochester, NY's Polar Bear Club.
It's not that Sometimes Things Just Disappear is an adventure into new musical landscapes as Polar Bear Club trends the familiar melodic path well laid out by trailblazers Hot Water Music or moreover, Small Brown Bike. It's just Polar Bear Club take the sound and make into something inherently their own. It's hard to pick a stellar track off Sometimes Things Disappear since they all have their own story to wrap your skull around with every repeated listen.
The songs on Sometimes Things Just Disappear are catchy with interesting stops and starts while not being overbearingly herky-jerky. There are way too many bands out that write parts and then jumble them into songs, Polar Bear Club actually craft songs from beginning to end. I don't get to hear many bands that know how to create a good song; it's especially rare to find a band that understands the magical art of making every song special and memorable.
Polar Bear Club is almost the band you would expect would happen if Small Brown Bike and The Casket Lottery formed a band after that great split of theirs that came out many moons ago on Second Nature. Hell, they sound more like that mythical emo greatness more than the actual end product, Able Baker Fox. That's no small feat. I knew from my very first listen of Sometimes Things Just Disappear that I was in for something great. You can tell that Polar Bear Club is just one of those bands that believes in their songs and put every ounce of heart they can muster into every riff, chorus, and verse.
I sometimes hate reviewing albums I really like because I always feel that I can never relay how a certain album reaches such greatness or at least uniqueness that you can't think of anything to day besides, "You really need to hear it to understand." Sometimes Things Just Disappear is one of those albums. I can tell who they sound like or even what they sound like but nothing even compares to what you will hear with your own two ears. I can only reassure that Polar Bear Club is one of those bands that will strike a chord deep within you and you'll want to follow around this band like The Grateful Dead. It's remarkable that there are still bands out there like Polar Bear Club that give a fuck about what they are doing. Sometimes Things Just a Disappear is going to be one my favorite albums to come out this year and quite possibly one of my favorite albums of all time.
