Tri-Polar (Deluxe Edition)
Virgin Records
Release Date: Out Now
Review by Tori Hyland
The deluxe edition of Australian trio, SICK PUPPIES, highly successful 2009 album, Tri-Polar, has landed.
The band formed in 1997, while Shimon Moore (Vocalist/Guitarist) and Emma Anzai (Bassist/Back-Up Vocals) were in high school jamming during lunch times. Their current drummer, Mark Goodwin, made his way into the band in 2001. Hitting their big break, when their song All The Same was featured in a “Free Hugs Campaign” and won the YouTube video of the year back in 2006. Now globally known, and with the success of their single, Maybe, they’re only getting bigger.
Opening with two quite fast and angry songs, War and I Hate You. With the transitions from clean vocals and almost unclean vocals to define a more angry sound, instantly sets a grunge feel to the album, a genre that can be difficult to find these days.
Moving to standout track, Riptide, the band’s fourth single release from Tri-Polar. Generally a good song and quite catchy, understanding why it was released. There are some catchy, good bass riffs from Emma in Riptide, also noticeable in I Hate You, Should’ve known better and Master Of The Universe. Decent bass riffs can be hard to come across these days, and aren’t incorporated as much, so it was a good change for one to see a female bassist and second the incorporation of the instrument.
After numerous grunge, angry songs, we move into a slightly different phase of the album beginning with standout track, Maybe. The last half of the Tri-Polar section seems to calm down a little more than the beginning.
Some of the lyrics on the album are great, very motivational demonstrated in the ninth song, Maybe, but lacks in some other songs for example in the fourth song You’re going down. The album deals mostly with anger and hatred, relationships and change.
Concluding the Tri-Polar half with White Balloons, the only song on this half where Emma’s voice is included, a duet between Shimon and Emma. A much softer and different song from the rest, which turns into a stronger song, a power ballad some would say. But although it has the duet beginning, the slow then the strength, I am left thinking something is missing from it.
The Polar Opposite half on the second disc demonstrates a great live capability and an even better acoustic performance. It’s interesting to listen to an angry song like You’re going down, then changed for an acoustic performance; the whole feel of the song is changed and sometimes for better. Like my personal favourite, Don’t Walk Away, it sounds ten times better acoustically with Emma’s voice incorporated. Shimon doesn’t seem to push that grunge sound in his voice through the acoustic songs either; a much softer vocal sound is produced.
Moving toward the B Side tracks, Dead Space, Pretender and Til Something Breaks, that’s exactly what they should be. They weren’t much different from the rest of the album and the diversity started to lack. The final concluding bonus track, Monsters, was a standout track and my personal favourite, with an unusual creepy catchy sound, one thing that stood out to me was the lyrics. ‘I know the reason you’re running scared, I met the monster inside your head.’
An album I could listen to again, but not an album I would listen to straight through. But despite all the anger mushed into these two discs, much of it is very catchy and different. Some tracks are better than others, and some sound the same. Creating the deluxe edition was a good step to have something modern out there for all the new fans to get their hands on after Maybe became popular, also to demonstrate their acoustic capabilities and to add some extra flavour and a softer side to the album.
7 out of 10 Stars
Sick Puppies:
Virgin Records:
Official YouTube Video – Maybe
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