Polar Similar
2016 studio album by Norma Jean
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Polar Similar is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band Norma Jean. The album was released on September 9, 2016, through Solid State Records, the band's first release on the label since 2008's The Anti Mother. This is Norma Jean's only release with guitarist Phillip Farris and the last with bassist John Finnegan and drummer Clayton Holyoak.
| Polar Similar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 9, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | January 2016 | |||
| Studio | Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:14 | |||
| Label | Solid State | |||
| Producer | Josh Barber, Norma Jean | |||
| Norma Jean chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Polar Similar | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Blabbermouth | 8.5/10[8] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[4] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout |   [3] |
| Metal Hammer |  [9] |
| Metal Injection | 9/10[2] |
| New Noise Magazine | [10] |
With the departure of guitarist Chris Day in 2015, Polar Similar is the first Norma Jean album to not feature any original members.
Recording and production
The album was recorded in January 2016 at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, where artists such as Nirvana, Failure, P.J. Harvey, and Explosions in the Sky have recorded albums. The album was produced by Josh Barber and the band. The title of the song "Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else" is a tribute to Lemmy of Motörhead, while the song itself is about an abusive relationship that vocalist Cory Brandan Putman was in.[11] "1,000,000 Watts" is one of only a few songs by the band containing profanity in the lyrics, something controversial amongst the Christian music scene, with its use of the word "fuck" towards the end.[3]
Release
"1,000,000 Watts" was the first song to be released from the album, premiering on June 14, 2016.[12] The album was released on September 9 through Solid State Records, the band's first release on the label since 2008's The Anti Mother. Four days later, on September 13, a music video was released for the song "Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else." The video, directed by Anthony Altamura, shows the band performing the song in a dimly lit room along with footage of people in abusive relationships.[13]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Norma Jean.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I. The Planet" | 3:03 |
| 2. | "Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else" | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Forever Hurtling Towards Andromeda" (featuring Sean Ingram) | 2:16 |
| 4. | "1,000,000 Watts" | 4:28 |
| 5. | "II. The People" | 2:14 |
| 6. | "Death Is a Living Partner" | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Synthetic Sun" | 3:50 |
| 8. | "Reaction" | 5:42 |
| 9. | "III. The Nebula" | 3:16 |
| 10. | "The Close and Discontent" | 2:34 |
| 11. | "An Ocean of War" | 3:28 |
| 12. | "A Thousand Years a Minute" | 5:58 |
| 13. | "IV. The Nexus" | 10:40 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Children of the Dead" | 3:07 |
Personnel
Norma Jean
- Cory Brandan – vocals, guitar
- Jeff Hickey – guitar
- Phillip Farris – guitar
- John Finnegan – bass
- Clayton Holyoak – drums, auxiliary percussion
Additional personnel
- Josh Holyoak – Sound design, keyboards, ambient sounds, and additional percussion throughout the album. Production at the end of track 13
- Adam Putman – additional percussion, piano and organ on tracks 4 and 13, background vocals on track 8
- Ben "Bob" Turkovic – additional percussion, engineering
- Sean Ingram – additional vocals on track 3
- Josh Barber – production, additional guitars on tracks 1 and 2
- Norma Jean – production
- Josh Barber – engineering
- Jeremy S.H. Griffith – mixing
- Drew Lavyne – mastering