Steve Henderson
05/29/08, 09:26 AM
Polaris at Noon – Season One: The Prospect
Release Date: Weekly, Beginning May 6, 2008
Record Label: Unsigned
After Radiohead singlehandedly brought about The End of the Music Industry As We Know It, artists are suddenly feeling empowered to release music in new ways that buck the traditional trends and status quo. Not going down the same path as everyone’s favorite English trailblazers, Jason Suwito, a.k.a. Polaris at Noon, has decided to release his material in a serialized fashion, akin to episodes of a TV show. Part gimmick, part innovation, yet entirely interesting, after The Pilot EP, Suwito’s Season One: The Prospect is in full swing. So, is it worth tuning into?
Listening to any of the “episodes” on Season One, it is readily apparent that Suwito has a real knack for writing excellent pop songs. Perhaps best seen in tracks like “Wasteland,” the verses are engaging, and the hooks are extremely tight (a common theme across the season). And, while songs like this make it seem easy enough to peg Polaris at Noon as a slightly reshuffled Acceptance (or similar), others exercise an uncommon amount of diversity, offering a varied listening experience on the whole. There are straight-up piano rockers (the aforementioned “Wasteland”), glitzy dance-rock numbers (“Misfire”), dynamic pop anthems (“Hell or High Water”), hushed ballads (“Skin and Bones”) and a few alternate takes on these and other styles. All in all, it is good to see an artist testing his own boundaries in this fashion, and the results here are generally favorable.
While Suwito does indeed know how to work toward the edges of his own boundaries, those lines themselves do little to challenge convention. Musically, the work on Season One is solid, if fundamentally unremarkable (until of course, you consider this is all the product of one person). There are glimpses of excellence embedded in some tracks, but overall, pretty standard fare. Likewise, vocally, Suwito is certainly competent – he carries his melodies well, and works comfortably within his range – not pushing the envelope, but still pleasing to the ear nonetheless. Even with these constraints, Polaris at Noon proves its ultimate skill as a pop act in that is all comes down to the songwriting – not lyrically, but in all of the other elements of construction that make so many of the tunes here enjoyable and catchy.
Overall, it is undeniable that Jason Suwito is one hell of a musical talent. On Season One, Polaris at Noon gives listeners a little bit of this, a little bit of that – and all of it is pretty damn good. The willingness and ability to embrace so many influences is a rare one in musical artists, and hopefully one that will help Suwito and his songs to stand out from the crowd. Coupling this proficiency with a clever take on the idea of what an “album release” really means, there is more than enough reason to plug into Season One: The Prospect.
Acceptance, We Shot the Moon, Waking Ashland, Something Corporate, Jonezetta
Release Date: Weekly, Beginning May 6, 2008
Record Label: Unsigned
After Radiohead singlehandedly brought about The End of the Music Industry As We Know It, artists are suddenly feeling empowered to release music in new ways that buck the traditional trends and status quo. Not going down the same path as everyone’s favorite English trailblazers, Jason Suwito, a.k.a. Polaris at Noon, has decided to release his material in a serialized fashion, akin to episodes of a TV show. Part gimmick, part innovation, yet entirely interesting, after The Pilot EP, Suwito’s Season One: The Prospect is in full swing. So, is it worth tuning into?
Listening to any of the “episodes” on Season One, it is readily apparent that Suwito has a real knack for writing excellent pop songs. Perhaps best seen in tracks like “Wasteland,” the verses are engaging, and the hooks are extremely tight (a common theme across the season). And, while songs like this make it seem easy enough to peg Polaris at Noon as a slightly reshuffled Acceptance (or similar), others exercise an uncommon amount of diversity, offering a varied listening experience on the whole. There are straight-up piano rockers (the aforementioned “Wasteland”), glitzy dance-rock numbers (“Misfire”), dynamic pop anthems (“Hell or High Water”), hushed ballads (“Skin and Bones”) and a few alternate takes on these and other styles. All in all, it is good to see an artist testing his own boundaries in this fashion, and the results here are generally favorable.
While Suwito does indeed know how to work toward the edges of his own boundaries, those lines themselves do little to challenge convention. Musically, the work on Season One is solid, if fundamentally unremarkable (until of course, you consider this is all the product of one person). There are glimpses of excellence embedded in some tracks, but overall, pretty standard fare. Likewise, vocally, Suwito is certainly competent – he carries his melodies well, and works comfortably within his range – not pushing the envelope, but still pleasing to the ear nonetheless. Even with these constraints, Polaris at Noon proves its ultimate skill as a pop act in that is all comes down to the songwriting – not lyrically, but in all of the other elements of construction that make so many of the tunes here enjoyable and catchy.
Overall, it is undeniable that Jason Suwito is one hell of a musical talent. On Season One, Polaris at Noon gives listeners a little bit of this, a little bit of that – and all of it is pretty damn good. The willingness and ability to embrace so many influences is a rare one in musical artists, and hopefully one that will help Suwito and his songs to stand out from the crowd. Coupling this proficiency with a clever take on the idea of what an “album release” really means, there is more than enough reason to plug into Season One: The Prospect.
Acceptance, We Shot the Moon, Waking Ashland, Something Corporate, Jonezetta