Jules & the Polar Bears - Good Reason

Jules & The Polar Bears is one of those bands that you want to like, but continue to remain on the fence about even after a decade of failed listens. Recently, I've been sampling bands from the late 70s and early 80s who released fake new wave albums -- major label acts who played middle of the road rock, but disguised it in skinny ties, brightly colored sweaters and catchy, Cars-y keyboard riffs. Jules & The Polar Bears are a good example. Their first record, 1978's Got No Breeding, was compared to Dylan, The Kinks and Springsteen. Personally, I hear a quirky Jackson Browne in the songwriting. Everything sounds bearded and mid-tempo, except Jules Shear, the singer. He gives the band a distinct sound with his "singing at the top of my range" yelp. But even with Shears' interesting squelch, the songs never break out of 70s rock conformity. The guitarist's resemblance to a member of Orleans or Doobie Brothers is telling.

Enter 1979's "Fenêtîks." The first tune, "Good Reason," is a slice of power pop that foreshadows a very 80s sound. Stephen Hague's sporadic bursts of swirling synthesizer immediately give the Polar Bears an updated sound. Shear's melodic yelp is at its most catchy throughout the tune's verses and chorus. Something about the tune reminds me of the first time I heard J. Geils Band's "Freeze Frame." The bridge prompts a head scratch, but the song quickly returns to a great guitar solo that apes the vocal melody.


I'm still trying to figure out the rest of the record. None of the subsequent songs ever match the immediate hook of the lead track. They bounce back and forth between Elvis Costello angst and Jackson Brown mellowness. Maybe Jules & The Polar Bears is one of those bands that takes a long time to appreciate. Afterall, that's how they did it back in the 70s. Labels gave a band two or three tries at a hit record before letting them out to pasture... which eventually happened after The Polar Bears' third attempt, "Bad For Business." It was tossed into the vault by Columbia and finally released in '96.

It's interesting to note: Shear went on to have a spree of songwriting hits in the 80s with Cyndi Lauper's "All Through the Night" and The Bangles' "If She Knew What She Wants." Stephen Hague gained production fame with bands like New Order and The Pet Shop Boys. He even recorded demos for R.E.M. pre-Murmur.