Jules & Polar Bears - Bad for Business

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Music reviews of Bad for Business

Music Review: "It's A Shame", indeed.
Rating: 3 Stars

A lack of discipline, as well. The aggressive intros of "Ballet" and "Over And Over" go on far too long -- the point is made; I WAS interested five seconds ago. Some songs seem to disappear, or end abruptly. As another reviewer noted, the arrangements are highly cluttered -- it's as if they knew this was their last album, and wanted to fit a career's worth of ideas on it.

Finally -- as blasphemous as it feels to say so -- Jules errs in his songwriting more than once. The band's failing career must have influenced the dreary "All Day Moods" and "When the World Looks Old". Unfortunately, there's no great insight to these songs; they merely pass the depression from artist to listener. Meanwhile, "Why Fight" is tonally obnoxious and lyrically vapid. The titles of the last two songs exemplify the redundancy and confusion in this album.

On the other hand, perfection is reached with "Only A Motion". Flute-like harmonies, a soulful lead, a slow and jazzy guitar solo, heart-rendering lyrics, and THE MOST GORGEOUS tom-tom fills since the early Cars albums! Also, "Problems" and "Waiting" feature infectious, unforgettable melodies, and the heavy-rock riffs of "Shame" and "Over and Over" will appeal to many. A fair enough return on your investment -- but "fair enough" was never the aspiration, now, was it?

While there's no problem with sound quality, what is sorely lacking here is a sympathetic producer, a guiding hand who could have influenced Jules and company to refine their ideas further. According to the liner notes, the band wanted the album this way. Artists shouldn't necessarily get everything they want.

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