Polarboy

Item: Back From Nowhere
Author: Bert Gangl / Mark Marus

Back From Nowhere

(1998)

Reviewed by Bert Gangl / Mark Marus

Discogs YouTube

Label Rustproof RecordsThe LighthouseUnsorted 1998

acoustic rock alternative rock jangle pop pop punk

In the past, categorizing the influences of the various artists in Christian rock music has been a fairly straightforward undertaking. Late '70s Southern rock progenitors like DeGarmo and Key, for example, drew heavily from the soulful, bluesy stylings of groups like the Doobie Brothers, while early '80s pop artists such as Vector took their cue from the synthesizer-driven sound of new wave acts like Thomas Dolby and the Human Leage. Geoff Moore's stripped-down, no-nonsense musical approach in the mid-'80s fit nicely alongside the blue-collar, heartland rock of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. And, in the late '80s, and even into early '90s, groups like Petra and a host of others mirrored the slick arena-ready sound of hard rockers like Night Ranger and Bon Jovi. Now, possibly because popular music is waiting for the next big style to hit, or perhaps because there simply exists a larger base of styles to draw on, rock artists today often mine a broader and more varied group of influences when composing their own music.

For their debut album, Back From Nowhere, the members of Polarboy combine musical elements from each of the past three decades in order to achieve their own particular sound. "Nickel For Green Eyed Girls" uses the quintessential early '70s scratch guitar effect, a la music from the movie, Shaft, whereas "Four Leaf Clover" employs ringing, folky guitars and slightly off-kilter melody lines similar to those on the first few albums from R.E.M.. "I'll Try," with its perky bob and bounce, resembles efforts from the Plimsouls and any number of other early '80s power pop bands, while "Babystarr," musically and atmospherically, sounds as if it could be a Pearl Jam ballad. But while the group is able to meld the various influences fairly seamlessly on the album, the release nonetheless suffers due to overabundant changes in both speed and melodic structure within the songs themselves. Indeed, the momentum established in the first lines of a good number of the songs on the album is brought to a halt by successive variations in both time signature and sonic texture, often to the point of distraction.

Lyrically, the album is divided nearly evenly between observations on interpersonal relationships and thoughts about man's kinship with God. For the most part, the songs are written in direct style, which serves to make their points clearly enough. But the writing style, straightforward as it is, still lacks the cleverness or depth to make these songs truly engaging. Consider these words from "Do What You Can:"

Do what you can, Read the Good Book, Try to be a better man.

and these from "Nickels for Green Eyed Girls:"

Take what you get; Give me what you got. Money won't buy much, But I sure could use some.

While the sentiments may be real enough, the truths in these songs are effectively diluted by the overly common writing style used to deliver them.

In spite of its shortcomings, Back From Nowhere is not without bright moments. The swirling musical ambience of "Do You Think" is unique and engrossing, while the sheer energy of "I'll Try" causes its enthusiasm to be truly infectious. And the comparison drawn between a man's longing for a woman's attention and God's patiently waiting for our own makes "Babystarr" both earnest and stirring. Suffice it to say that songs like these offer proof that Polarboy is able to craft compositions that are both lyrically piercing and musically cohesive, and a follow-up album of songs like them undoubtedly would stand to be most impressive indeed.