POLAR STATES will be releasing Lost, the first of 4 new EP’s on the 8th December. This will be their first release after disappearing offline earlier this year.
The band formed in 2015 demoing over 90 songs in their Toxteth, Liverpool flat. Pretty soon they had built up a fanbase of 20,000 online fans through sending their demos out privately on Instagram. 2015 was a marked year for them as they caught the ear of Grammy Award-winning producer Jon Withnail (of Coldplay, Elbow and The Coral fame). A debut single about a homeless couple, Concrete produced by Withnail immediately brought them to the attention and support of 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, and BBC Introducing’s Dave Monks.
From there, two UK tours followed plus a string of sold-out shows at the 02 Academy in Liverpool. They also appeared at festivals such as Liverpool Sound City, Tramlines, Kendal Calling & Dot to Dot. They were also invited to support bands like The Heartbreaks, The Japanese House and Jetpacks on tour and play XFM’s This Feeling.
In the last six months, however, they have taken time out to step back and re-evaluate things. This has resulted in lots of hours locked away in the studio and the dark pop four-piece reworking 25 of their favourite tracks into the basis of the next 4 EP’s. The EP launch party was held last week at the Liverpool Arts Club on 2 December to welcome it to the world.
“Prior to this we felt like there was no clear route to achieving what we wanted. We seemed to be doing everything and nothing at the same time. These 4 EP’s illustrate the journey of us finding our identity, artistically and personally, and this has inadvertently seeped into the fabric of the songs…. It’s no secret that we aspire to one day fill a stadium with a mixture of sad songs and massive uplifting anthems. This is how we feel it should start.”
Lost is a tightly-written sing-a-long track that sounds light and breezy with an undercurrent of irony. “Some days I think I know everything but then I know better to think that now….Oh I think I got lost where I belong”. An upbeat slice of guitar/indie pop. Meet Me in the Morning is full of taut drum rhythms, sincere emotion and catchy hooks. The tempo changes just halfway through revealing some great guitar lines.
Advert To My Youth made me feel old with the line “Sitting in the dark watching movies on our new phones” but I guess that’s the point. The stripped back introduction of the piano works well weaving a pattern of melancholia throughout before the tempo speeds up. This is my favourite track that sounds like the end of innocence with the line “You said everything changed…and I’ll never get back”. Gives you goosebumps.
Standing On The Edges combines thoughtful lyrics with swooping, anthemic harmonies. It’s a decisive song as is the EP. And overall, for a band that is still relatively young they seem to know where they are going with a maturity beyond their years.
Be the first to comment