polygon palace - Sunburnt Shadows

Polygon Palace 

Sunburnt Shadows
Escapade Records; 2013

4.2 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Polygon Palace is a musical collaboration between Adam Phase and Gabriel Crossan. After a couple of EP releases including Tokyo Getaway and We Have a Visual they released their first LP Sunburnt Shadows. The album contains 12 exceptional songs of electro pop not unlike that of Passion Pit or Cut Copy. From beginning to end every track sounds top notch with high production values. The songs are fun, easy to dance to and have unpretentious lyrics and themes. 

From the first moments on “Starpilots” you know you are in for a treat. A deliciously funky bass line and extremely infectious vocal line coated in an English accent gets you in the right mood. The chorus explodes with exuberance as the vocalist sings “The greater heads got together / Decided it was time / We buried our thoughts / With clocks to measure our passing / And a note explaining why we left.” 

A deep distorted bass and lead synth follow the same melody on “Paper Cuts” while “Tokyo Getaway” is a deep cut with an inspired beat and may just be the best song on the album. “Foreign Creature” relies on the symbiotic relationship between the bass and drums to create the foundation for the vocals to lay on top of. As the song progresses it impresses with advanced production techniques. The vocals become filtered, synths manipulate and dynamics are perfected creating an engaging, visceral song. “Showtime” utilizes Interpol-esque guitar strumming and an impressive instrumental breakdown section that is a blast to listen to. “The One Who Walk Away” has a huge sound and was a good choice to end the album with as it had some of the most original sounds. 

Polygon Palace has made an exceptional album with Sunburnt Shadows. It had everything I appreciate in an album and is undoubtedly going to be one of the most underrated releases this year. Hopefully we hear a lot more from Polygon Palace.