POLARA

Somebody needs to explain the concept of “Jack of all trades, master of none” to Ed Ackerson. Ed is the guitarist/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer/label owner/writer of Polara, as his press kit proudly reiterates over and over again. Polara's press kit also uses words like “ahead of the curve,” “experimental,” “daring,” and “spontaneous” to describe them. They are anything but. Unless those words are used to describe people without their own vision, who copy the sounds of other talented bands, badly. They even have the audacity to compare themselves to My Bloody Valentine! There is a special level of Hell just for people like you, Ed.
Jetpack Blues (worst title ever) is simply Ed trying to rip off U2, Garbage, and Spiritualized with pathetic effect. He doesn't seem to have any direction, going from Garbage riffs to Bowie space lyrics to a country ballad ("The Story So Far"). Ed can play guitar and produce, but he couldn't sing or write an original song to save his life. His vocals are flat, lifeless, and completely kill any momentum his stolen riffs gave the songs in the first place. I think it's especially funny how this disc is as overly produced as a Def Leppard album, yet they describe themselves as “indie.”
Ed, please shelve Polara, stay in the studio, and produce albums for good bands that have a vision. We have enough poor imitations out there, and at least they can commit to ripping off just one style. Use your producing talent for good, not evil.