Album Review: Polyester Heart - "Polyester Heart"

by Josh "pinky" Pothier

While I find this Polyester Heart album lacks a little bit lyrically, it’s a pretty endearing and honest release. It’s a very warm sounding album -- a signature of albums recorded at the House Of Miracles -- and although minimal in it’s instrumentation and approach it has a very open and encompassing quality to it.

There are things Dave Marcotte does with his voice that I find annoying but then there are things he does that I think are really unique and interesting. He’s not so strong at putting on the “rock voice” like towards the end of Marionette, or Worst Of Me which is actually quite painful to listen to. It’s sad because he doesn’t really need to put it on at all, the vocals feel much more comfortable when he sort of lulls about with his voice, like in Police Fire et. Al. The way he plays with vocal melodies reminds me of the wonderful Virgil Muir of Heavy Meadows, which is never a bad thing.

As a two-piece the drums play a very integral part in keeping the songs together, and Marshall Bureau is just a wonder to listen to. He has a soft touch but a strong presence and he really keeps things interesting throughout the songs. He plays off the vocal quite well, and these two have a great musical give and take that seems to come naturally.

There are some great instrumental moments on this album as well, like the track Inching Closer To Dawn, which is a dark and brooding three minutes, showing off the groups sense of melody very well.
While a tad too “jazzy” for me at times, this is a fine piece of work, and if you’re into people like Jon McKiel, Snailhouse and Great Lake Swimmers, you’ll probably find something to love about Polyester Heart as well.