Kelley Polar, I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling
Featured Album
Kelley Polar dishes out more DIY symphonies.
“I had a vision of a stage opening, with all kinds of creatures natural and artificial coming out for the play or the opera or whatever… See, sentences like that are why I should really keep most things about what I think about my songs mysterious.” So begins a 2008 interview with Kelley Polar, in which he describes the first song on his sophomore album, I Need You to Hold on While the Sky Is Falling. Credit Polar for self-awareness, sure. But in listening to the song in question, you get the feeling that there's almost no better explanation for what it evokes. Polar fits his voice through a vocoder, reciting a prelude of sorts, welcoming the listener into the album. An operatic diva wordlessly sings in the background, before the whole thing is taken over by a funky little disco groove complete with a full string section. An alien overture.
I Need You to Hold On…, somewhat unbelievably, begins where Polar's stunning debut Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens left off. The follow-up sees Polar more comfortable with both his voice and orchestration. (The former is untrained, but works because the latter was schooled at both Oberlin and Julliard.) When leavened with Polar's naïve vocals, what might otherwise come off as cold, systematized funk becomes unique DIY disco symphonies ala Bruce Haack.
“Sea of Sine Waves” might be the perfect example. It starts slowly — more wordless oohhing and aahing — before a beat kicks in, edging the tune towards its undeniable bassline. What follows is a pretty normal synth-pop song that builds and builds until everything cuts out and only a sine wave is left. Elegantly composed, idiosyncratically performed: it's the push/pull that makes Kelley Polar worth listening to.
