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Polar Bear (album)

Polar Bear
Polar Bear (album) cover.jpg
Studio album by Polar Bear
Released 1 September 2008
Studio Miloco Pool Studio
Genre Jazz
Length 72:00
Label Tin Angel and The Leaf Label
Producer Sebastian Rochford and Mark Rankin
Polar Bear chronology
Held On The Tips Of Fingers
(2005)Held On The Tips Of Fingers2005
Polar Bear
(2008)
Peepers
(2010)Peepers2010
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 72/100
Review scores
Source Rating
BBC Positive
Drowned in Sound 8/10
The Guardian 4/5 stars
The Observer 2/5 stars

Polar Bear is the eponymous third album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band Polar Bear.

The band spent " a lot of time" recording Polar Bear, Seb Rochford stating that he wanted the album "to have the saxes not so much soloing, but more interacting with (Leafcutter) John, and it took a while for everyone to get their heads round improvising in that way".

The album was initially released on Tin Angel in 2008, but was re-issed by The Leaf Label in 2014.

On the Metacritic website, which aggregates reviews from critics and assigns a normalised rating out of 100, Peepers received a score of 72, based on 1 mixed and 3 positive reviews.Drowned In Sound praised the album's "seamless motion and playful interplay" and "sheer musical pleasure", awarding it 8/10. The BBC called it a "triumph" in their review, calling Polar Bear "a fine record".The Guardian write that Rochford is a "proper jazz composer, whose themes are spare, colourful and strong enough to frame and support extensive improvisation from his talented crew and guests" and call the album "brilliant".The Observer are less impressed, writing that "that this is a band running out of ideas", calling Polar Bear "good in small doses". Ultimately, the album did not receive the same press as the previous album, Held On The Tips Of Fingers, which had gained extra media attention after being shortlisted for a Mercury Music Prize.

All music composed by Rochford, except 4 & 13 by Rochford, Lockheart, Wareham, Burton & Herbert and 11 by Rochford, Burton, Herbert & Laubrook.


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