Same as You (LP)

Throughout Polar Bear's recording career, the only constant has been change. Sebastian Rochford and company have used jazz to explore funk, hip-hop, dissonant improvisation, EDM, rock, and more. Same as You was recorded hot on the heels of 2014's Each and Every One -- nominated for a Mercury Prize -- and mixed by drummer Rochford and producer Ken Barrientos in the Mojave Desert, whose vibe inhabits these tracks. Same as You was originally conceived as a single piece and eventually separated into five cuts that still sound seamless and whole. There is a compelling meld of styles here, but the thread that ties its various elements together is the rhythm section's exploration of dub. That's not to say that this is a reggae record; far from it. But the constant interplay between Rochford and bassist Tom Herbert simultaneously grounds and liberates saxophonists Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart and Leafcutter John on guitars and electronics to explore widely. It is far more relaxed than Each and Every One; the sound is also more organic despite the wealth of ambient and other electronics.

Same as You bears a less forceful signature than previous Polar Bear offerings, but it is also their most musically satisfying album. The attention to sonic detail and warm atmospherics, combined with the high level of harmonic invention and improvisational adventure, would be right at home on Manfred Eicher's ECM label.