The High Water Marks, Polar

reviewed by dave heaton

Not to spend too much time pitting Hilarie Sidney’s current band The High Water Marks against her previous band The Apples in Stereo … but for all the praise heaped upon the latter band’s new LP, the new, second High Water Marks album Polar blows it out of the water in terms of punchy pop energy. Super-catchy pop-rock songs are played loudly and quickly. The songs are awash in noisy guitars, and there’s melodies infectious and moving underneath.

And often, bittersweet: “Early Fall”, especially, is perfectly melancholy, but much of the album has that same feeling to it. There’s a great moment in “Dutch Tape” where the noise cuts away, and then comes back strongly. Hope and sadness are both amplified in the music, right there with the band’s clear giddiness at playing. Sidney and Perole Bratset co-wrote all the songs (except two, from ex-Oranger member John Lindsay), and trade off vocals. For all the fuzz, Sidney’s voice stands more confidently in the mix than with the Apples, which only adds to the force of the songs. Polar is an exciting rush of energy, but there’s sweetness and sadness there too.

{www.hhbtm.com}