Our new friends at Absolute Punk weigh in with a stellar review. Check it out, read the comments, and chime in!
“With the release of their second EP; Scottish rock outfit, Penguins Kill Polar Bears offer us six songs that are all miniature behemoths in their own right. Each song creates climactic moments of crushing sound with spacey melodies woven inside them. It’s what you would expect from a band that call themselves ‘loud vocal post rock’ – this could not be closer to the truth. Sticking to their self appraisal, they sweep through their songs effortlessly with beautifully orchestrated instrumentation. The quieter and less heavy sections are composed and collected before seamlessly unleashing into another monument of sound.
Vocally the album was a grower for me. This might have been down to the instrumentation being more akin to it being exactly that; instrumental. Nevertheless, vocalist Ben Proudlock stamps his own unique brand into the proceedings. Slightly quirky (might have to do with the accent, think a slightly more nasal Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro in their earlier days. It’s maybe an easy comparison and stereotype but it’s the best I can offer) but fitting. Most notable is that the vocals almost act as an extra instrument. What I mean is that he does not distract you from the music; where as you may feel inclined with other bands to listen in a different way to catch what the lyrics are or what the vocal melodies are…you do not get that urge on Vessels & Veins. Everything blends together.
The weak link on the album is the production. Where as the vocals sound crisp and proper the instrumentation makes you feel like you are watching them live but from a considerable distance. There is an ‘under the water’ effect which is a shame as you feel that many of the melodies and texturing are somewhat muddy. This is perhaps deliberate, but with such atmospheric melodies you cannot help but wish the quality was a little better.
I admit that I was surprised by this EP. It came out of nowhere for me and I had never heard of them before. That is definitely a thing of the past as they have a new fan and I will eagerly be waiting for more material (with better production).
-Alex Djaferis”
Check the link “here”:http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?p=86930872#post86930872