Stand Atlantic x Polaris Bowl A Strike In Latest Collab Track 'CRIMINAL'
Exuding nothing but hype for two of Sydney’s most beloved bands who reside on the opposite end of the musical spectrum; Stand Atlantic, electro-experimental pop punk first forged their way with a mid-2000’s pop punk/emo vibe that rapidly steered strongly towards their own depictive idea of the modernized sound. Polaris, big time progressive metal hitters resourcefully aiding the charge of keeping Aussie metalcore on the map with insane technical riffs, brutal beat downs, and soul opening lyrics with the vocals paired perfectly.Utilising their once minor influence of synth and electronica to fill the background of their sophomore catalogue, STAT are now taking it to a major forefront stance with latest single ‘CRIMINAL’.Exhaling slowly, glitched club beats and altered guitar noises breathe you erratically in, swooning you closer with a lower register than normal for Bonnie Fraser’s vocals, as seen previously in massive collaborative track GIRL$. A simple structure draws the clear map for the songs way, having chill reign over the verses all to be a build-up for the jumpy choruses that they infamously always nail.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUt6aI9kFU8&ab_channel=StandAtlanticNow, the feature we all came here to hear; Jamie Hails. Barging his way in (like the music video) a raw stretched out scream takes over the track like a virus, almost demanding the guitars in with savage chugs to match his energy. Keeping up the overall fun vibe, Bonnie and Jamie line swap up to the last chorus adding in his own adlibs and backing remaking that chorus fresh one last time.We’ve known and heard Stand Atlantic having been moving further away from pop-punk for a while now; diving deeper into samples, VST’s, and overall experimentative production in their sound. They’ve proved time and time again they have the capabilities and tools to create bangers one after the others, but I feel CRIMINAL does fall quite short. The intro and verses are quite messy and unrefined. The chorus does pop as it should, but leaves a lot of empty noise in the background and dulled down singing. The big turnaround for the track was the vocal feature from Polaris, but due to the slow pacing and spacious feeling in the music the heaviness loses its momentum faster than it should.It’s like they had all the right tools, but didn’t quite use them properly. Constantly striving for perfecting a modernized take on your own sound is tough, not everything is going to be a hit unfortunately. Regardless if this was a miss for me, we’re always eager to hear what Stand Atlantic come out with next. Luckily for us we only have 2 months until fourth studio album ‘Was Here’ – (available August 23rd via Hopeless Records) hits our golden shores.It would be CRIMINAL if you didn’t give it pre-order.Words by Ed Atlas (@yourfavouritemerchguy)
Pre-order - Stand Atlantic - 'Was Here' hereWatch Stand Atlantic x Polaris - CRIMINAL here
Stand Atlantic – Was Here tracklisting
1. WAKE UP-SIT DOWN-SHUT UP2. FRENEMIES3. GIRL$ [feat. PVRIS & Bruses]4. FREAKIN’ OUT5. NOSE BLEED [feat. Sueco]6. LOVE U ANYWAY7. KISSIN’ KILLER COBRAS8. WARZ0NE9. CRIMINAL [feat. Polaris]10. 1711. 17 // REPRIZE [ONE TAKE]12. G.A.G.13. ROCKSTAR14. SEX ON THE BEACH15. KILL[H]ER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYySr4E7kLg&ab_channel=StandAtlantic
