If ‘Is This Thing Loaded’ was their ‘Your Favorite Weapon’, then ‘Pollyanna’ is their ‘Deja Entendu’ – ladies and gents, welcome in one of the albums of the year. If Northstar made a distinguishable impression with their first full length, they’ve tattooed their mark with the follow-up. Essentially it’s a record that carries more of the same – all post-hardcore riffs, cool choruses and southern style vocals – yet betters its predecessor in every department. The songs are stronger, the vocals better and the guitars crisper, yet edgy enough to interest and intrigue. And yes, I know people will batter on about how it’s “more of the same” or “nothing new”, but when records are as carefully crafted as this, who cares?
I’ve purposely made the Brand New comparisons, even though the bands themselves hardly sound alike. While heavily engrained in the New Jersey scene (after all, Taking Back Sunday proclaimed them ‘the best band in the world’), Northstar actually hail from Alabama and it’s the southern accent which really pulls out the best in the lazy vocal drawl that sets the band apart from a lot of the de-tuned emo clones. But while they may not sound like Jesse Lacey and co, the development between the records certainly compares to what Brand New have done – and that’s more than simply grow up. As musicians everything sounds bigger and better; there’s more thought to the melodies and the guitar parts are clever as they weave in and out of the songs.
The strengths that Northstar have are used well, culminating in an almost faultless record. From the opening strains of ‘For Members Only’ to the closing ‘Rocket City‘, this is an album you can listen to over and over. I know because I have – and 10 days on from getting hold of a copy, it’s still firmly stuck in the stereo. Tracks like ‘Pollyanna’ and ‘The Pornographers Daughter’ stand out too, sticking out like Miss India at a Miss Universe contest – there’s not much between the candidates, they’re all beautiful anyway. ‘Two Zero Two’ takes things up a notch even further, a track which is arguably the pick of the bunch.
Triple Crown uncovered a gem in Brand New and it seems likely that given the same push, Northstar could well make waves too. ‘Pollyanna’ is a clever record that will surely set out to be one of the years best. It may not be original in terms of genre, but it certainly pushes back at the boundaries of the bands trying to do something new within it. ‘Is This Thing Loaded?’ was a great album that did not get the commercial acclaim it probably should have. Here’s hoping it’s a case of second time lucky…
www.northstarrock.com
Triple Crown Records
Paul