TesseracT - Polaris

Just listened to this twice. I quite enjoyed it, but not as much as Altered State and definitely not as much as the Concealing Fate EP. They tried to do something new here and that has its ups and downs. "Hexes" is such a beautifully written song.

Edit: after listening to AS again, I realised it's about on par with that album, despite it's different vibe. You're not going to get as much of TesseracT's signature complex groove, but that's replaced with an increased focus on other progressive elements that the band had yet to experiment with in the past. Nothing groundbreaking, but quite refreshing.

Everything was fantastic up until "Phoenix". I rarely complain about track order - in fact, I can't recall ever doing that before - but the feel of the start of that song doesn't fit at all with the ending of "Utopia". Then there's that cringe-worthy part at 0:30 that doesn't even fit in the song itself. Then "Messenger" has that tasteless intro that I still can't stand. The last two tracks are good, but not quite as good as the rest. Seriously what is it with the first half of albums in 2015 being far better than the other? That's it, I'm making a hashtag: #1sthalf>2nd

A gorgeous album. Dan's soaring and emotive vocals are spotless and never fail to impress. Musically, the album is glistening and atmospheric. Been listening to it all day. Hopefully Dan sticks around this time.

Bit less experimental and more basic than previous efforts, but they amped up what made them great in the first place. I'm really digging this album to be honest.

Incredible album. Can't stop listening. So many great grooves and the atmosphere is just great. Incredible performance by everyone on this one.

This album feels like a concentration of what makes this band great. 10/10 from me.

I was reluctant to try this because of the swap in vocalists, but they really managed to make it work. The real polish of the album makes it so I can barely tell the difference between them, and the music itself sounds fantastic. A lot of moments in the album remind me of Porcupine Tree.

I never really liked TesseracT but this one was a pleasant groovy surprise.

The singels made it pretty clear that I'm gonna hate this album, but now while I listen to the album I got to say I'm pleasantly surprised. Tourniquet is absolutely stunning.

It doesn't have the 'hooked at every moment' magic that "Altered State" had but it's certainly another excellent album by one of my favorite groups. Incredible soundscapes and feel.

If the 2nd half was as strong as the 1st, this may have been a perfect album.

I'm going to be brutally honest here, I was sorely disappointed with this album, especially since I really liked Altered State. This isn't to say I'm comparing the two releases however. I realize both albums are different to each other, but I do much prefer the slightly more explosive and prominent nature of Altered State, whereas with Polaris it's almost as if most of the songs have too much build-up. I'll explain myself. I expected the first three songs to amount to something truly bombastic (don't ask me why, it's my weird expectations getting in the way), but instead what I got was something that, whilst still intricate and dynamic enough to please some listeners, simply fizzled out in the end. These songs are too long as well for my liking. What I mean here is that, yes, longer songs do need a bit of time to truly stretch ideas out effectively, but with the likes of "Dystopia" and "Survival", it's almost as if there was one singular idea and nothing else. I mean, the band probably intended for said ideas to be perfect in the end, but it certainly didn't give me that impression.

I'll close by saying this: I think Polaris is too laidback for its own good most of the time. There were some songs that really grabbed my attention ("Phoenix" and "Messenger" namely), but the rest of the album seemed to be on auto-pilot. I feel I've explained myself enough so that the oncoming horde of TesseracT devotees don't try to crucify me, but this is why I rated the album.

Actually a very good and refreshing album, never heard them before but decided to give it a try as I'm wondering if I'm going to attend their gig in Brisbane or not

This is a unique album, and a rather ethereal one at that. I wasn't sure what to expect from Tesseract, honestly, although I must say that I am pleased overall. When I listen to Polaris I almost feel as if I am listening to an ambient album or something similar - in other words, something very "light" - so, if I am in the mood for something more direct, this album isn't a good choice. It would be interesting to hear this band's style with even more dynamics and contrast from song-to-song or even within the songs themselves.

Quite surprised that this has a 7.9 considering it's predecessor got an 8.3

Written by LeKiwi on 12.11.2015 at 02:01

Quite surprised that this has a 7.9 considering it's predecessor got an 8.3

Agree!

Enjoyable album. Like the drumming by Jay Postones and the high-pitched singing from Daniel Tompkins.

I've tried to like this album. But I can't.

I like it

It's a well written album definitely but it's too polished and melodic for my tastes. I think that is my issue with all tesseract albums. I know the musicianship displayed is top notch, but I somehow can't seem to get into it.