Norma Jean - Polar Similar

As I am prone to telling almost anyone who will listen, Norma Jean has long been one of my favorite bands, and since its announcement about a year ago, I had been jittery with excitement in awaiting their latest release, Polar Similar. Despite this act’s fluid nature as a musical collective, my faith in their ability to deliver music that is both groundbreaking and yet true to the legacy has been unwavering. And though there are no longer any founding members present in the band, this fresh lineup succeeds in honoring the tradition that is Norma Jean while producing what may be the best record yet released under the moniker.

Norma Jean has perpetually been a heavy band, and Polar Similar delivers fully on that promise. Guitarists Jeff Hickey and Philip “Philly” Farris pull heady, ground-shaking chugs from their instruments, playing predominantly in tunings as low as Drop-A or Drop-G. Bassist John Finnegan thunders out angry bass notes that reverberate through the chest, while Clayton “Goose” Holyoak bludgeons his drums towards a violent end. The band is loud and brutally heavy, pulling as much metal from their instruments as possible, smashing melody against mania without compromise.

Norma Jean has loaded Polar Similar with the same raging heaviness we expect from the band, yet never before has the music been approached with such fearlessness. As lead singer Cory Brandan states, the intention behind the record was “to do things [our] own way, and not care if anyone gives a shit about it,” and indeed there is no lack of innovation on the record. Norma Jean explores completely new territories in some pieces, using sampled recordings in “II. The People” and “A Thousand Years a Minute,” featuring a spoken-word piece in “Synthetic Sun,” and mixing in a gentle grand piano coda for “1,000,000 Watts.” This experimentation even extends through recording techniques, as apparently the band recorded guitar parts over an indoor pool at the studio as well as through the walls of the house they stayed in.

This willingness to delve into new, unexplored areas is truly the drive behind Polar Similar, and one of the most notable undertakings is Cory Brandan’s increasingly melodic singing. Although the man can scream and growl like a rabid and furious jaguar, songs like “Reaction” and the band’s tribute to the late great Lemmy, “Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else,” show Cory concentrating his vocals in a beautiful yet still edgy singing voice. This choice allows for him to play with the emotion of the song, to let his anger seethe rather than shout. This also creates a new dynamic in the music, so that when Brandan does scream, it shakes the listener all the more by contrasting with the quiet that came before it.

Further nuance and innovation are present in the lyrics, both in theme and in presentation. Apparently Polar Similar involves a loose concept, reflected by the numbering of four of the tracks that break up the movement of the record. And while that concept seems rather vague and broad, that massive scope is apparently the point; as Cory puts it, the thematic pieces arose from a desire for “Polar Similar to really tell a story and be disconnected from us as people.” The four titles seem to zoom in on one another; “I. The Planet” being a superficial lump of us all; “II. The People” representing the individuals; and “III. The Nebula” an ode to the undefined, amorphous boundaries that separate us. Thus, the final and explosive track, “IV. The Nexus,” references the connecting thread that ties us all together, the uniting sameness at the heart of all of us that shatters those boundaries.

This idea of connection is one of the main themes that the record’s lyrics explore. While every band member contributed to the writing in some way, much of the songs center on an abusive relationship that Cory was once in. “An Ocean of War” embodies the accusing and arguing inherent in such a relation with the lines “Give me a chance to say everything / You’re not thinking it through at all,” while “A Thousand Years a Minute” delves into self-destructive tendencies: “I’m taking what you’re giving but the giving takes away.” Yet, in the recognition of the unhealthy atmosphere this relationship created, Cory is able to walk away and save himself from further suffering, as presented in the line “I’m leaving this sea, never to return”  in “The Close and Discontent.”

The creation of Polar Similar is a form of catharsis for the band, and for me, no tune defines this feeling better than “Death is a Living Partner.” Amid some of the most intense, unrelenting instrumentation of the record, Cory dissects at full volume his passage from youth into adulthood. His wail of “The invincibility of our youth has just given way…to the inevitability of our death” starts with rage, yet settles into a full, heavy understanding of his own mortality, before naming death as his “living partner / a consummate, consummate one.” This pounding, furious coda is the audial equivalent of gazing into the void, a gaze that results in either peace or annihilation, that sucks me in every single time.

Undoubtedly, Polar Similar is an album of evolution, of maturation, and of experimentation. Norma Jean has poured every piece of their hearts into this record, filling it front to back with unbridled emotion and power. Whether exploring new frontiers or treading carefully across old wounds, this band strides forward without fear or hesitation, turning that journey into the brutal truth that lies at the heart of every song. Polar Similar is a record full of surprises, but it leaves me without a trace of doubt that this band’s trajectory leads only upwards.

Tunes to Check Out:

1) Forever Hurtling Towards Andromeda

2) Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else

3) Reaction