{{Infobox album | name = Same as You | type = studio | artist = Polar Bear | cover = Polar_bear_same_as_you_album_cover.jpg | released = 30 March 2015 | recorded = Assault & Battery Studio (London) | venue = | studio = | genre = Jazz, electronica | length = 54:02 | label = The Leaf Label | producer = Sebastian Rochford | prev_title = In Each and Every One | prev_year = 2014 | next_title = | next_year = }}
'''''Same as You''''' is the sixth studio album by British jazz band Polar Bear. It was released on 30 March 2015 by The Leaf Label.
==Background==
The band rehearsed and recorded the album in the UK, after which Seb Rochford went to California and mixed the album with Ken Barrientos in the Mojave Desert.<ref name="beard">{{cite web | url=http://beardedmagazine.co.uk/index.php/features/article/interview-polar-bear | title=Interview: Polar Bear | work=Bearded | date=11 May 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Stanley | first=Ian}}</ref> Rochford instructed members Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart not to rehearse their solos prior to recording, using their spontaneous first takes as the definitive versions.<ref name="beard" />
Rochford stated in an interview that the album "was very much influenced by the desire to share positivity and love, but also by my experience in the Mojave Desert, where I found amazing inspiration and perspective".<ref name="Bandcamp">{{cite web | url=http://blog.bandcamp.com/2015/03/24/love-and-light/ | title=Love and Light | publisher=Bandcamp | date=24 March 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Servini | first=Dom}}</ref><ref name="LJN">{{cite web | url=http://www.londonjazznews.com/2015/03/cd-review-polar-bear-same-as-you.html | title=CD REVIEW: Polar Bear – Same As You | work=London Jazz News | date=25 March 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Bergsagel | first=Dan}}</ref> ''Jazzwise'' magazine wrote that the vocals on the album "can be traced back to ''A Love Supreme''", and listed the Gondwana Orchestra and Primal Scream’s ''Screamadelica'' as other reference points.<ref name="jazzwise">{{cite web | url=http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/pages/jazz-album-reviews/13521-polar-bear-same-as-you | title=Polar Bear – Same as You | work=Jazzwise | date=March 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Hastes | first=Nick}}</ref> Rochford further stated that the album is "definitely influenced by more Indian music than any of our other albums".<ref name="beard" /> "Life, Love And Light" was co-written and narrated by Asar Mikael, ''All About Jazz'' stating that his ""heartfelt and life-affirming spoken word performance is the tune's central focus".<ref name="AAJ">{{cite web | url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/same-as-you-polar-bear-the-leaf-label-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php?width=320 | title=Polar Bear: Same As You (2015) | work=All About Jazz | date=15 May 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Lindsay | first=Bruce}}</ref> Jamie Cullum recommended the album in an interview with ''NPR'', stating: "I think Polar Bear are the great argument for why European jazz is something that is vital".<ref name="NPR">{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2015/05/23/408558784/jamie-cullum-wants-you-to-hear-these-jazz-tunes | title= Jamie Cullum Wants You To Hear These Jazz Tunes | publisher=NPR | date=23 May 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Simon | first=Scott}}</ref>
''Same as You'' charted at number 5 on the UK's Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart and stayed in the chart for a four-week run.<ref name="chart">{{cite web | url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/jazz-and-blues-albums-chart/20150405/18 | title = Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30, 05 April 2015 – 11 April 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015}}</ref> The band have also been nominated for two Jazz FM awards, including "UK Jazz Act of the Year".<ref name="JazzFM">{{cite web | url=http://www.jazzfmawards.com/news/full-list-nominations-announced-jazz-fm-awards/ | title = Full List of Nominations Announced for the Jazz FM Awards | publisher = Jazz FM | accessdate=29 May 2015}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | MC = 79/100<ref name="meta" /> | rev1 = ''All About Jazz'' | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="AAJ" /> | rev2 = AllMusic | rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="AM" /> | rev3 = ''Clash'' | rev3score = 5/10<ref name="Clash" /> | rev4 = Drowned in Sound | rev4score = 7/10<ref name="DIS" /> | rev5 = ''The Guardian'' | rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="guard" /> | rev6 = ''Jazzwise'' | rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="jazzwise" /> | rev7 = ''Mojo'' | rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="mojo" /> | rev8 = MusicOMH | rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="MOHM" /> | rev9 = ''The Observer'' | rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="observe" /> | rev10 = ''The Line of Best Fit'' | rev10score = 7.5/10<ref name="TLOBF" /> }}
On the Metacritic website, which aggregates reviews from critics and assigns a normalised rating out of 100, ''Same as You'' received a score of 79, based on 2 mixed and 9 positive reviews.<ref name="meta">{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/same-as-you/polar-bear | title=Same as You by Polar Bear | publisher=Metacritic | accessdate=29 May 2015}}</ref> ''Mojo'' write that ''Same as You'' "is a joyous affirmation of positivity", stating that "the focal point throughout is Seb Rochford's drums, his rhythmic patterns simultaneously primal and abstract".<ref name="mojo">{{cite journal | last=Waring | first=Charles | title=Filter Albums | journal=Mojo | issue= April 2015 | page=93}}</ref> ''The Observer'' write that ''Same as You'' has "a spacier, more minimalist sound, no doubt influenced by the Mojave Desert" and praise the "playful pulse of gentle polyrhythms alongside Tom Herbert’s taut, dub-like acoustic bass".<ref name="observe">{{cite web | url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/29/polar-bear-same-as-you-review-dont-let-the-feeling-go | title= Polar Bear: Same As You review – a spacier, more minimalist sound | work= The Observer | date= 29 March 2015 | accessdate= 29 May 2015 | last= Spencer | first= Neil}}</ref> Touching on similar themes, the reviewer in ''Jazzwise'' writes that this is "the most emotionally engaging music ... from them. Though recorded in London, Seb Rochford’s relocation to the Mojave Desert to mix surely added to its haunting ambience".<ref name="jazzwise" /> ''Clash'' felt differently, stating that "the music can sometimes be difficult to really grip onto" and describing an album where "the overall feeling is one of ennui".<ref name="Clash">{{cite web | url=http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/polar-bear-same-as-you | title=Same as You | work= Clash | date= 8 April 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Rivers | first=Joe }}</ref> ''All About Jazz'' write that the album has "a feeling of relaxed positivity and well-being" and state that the album shows the band "as an ensemble (and) ''Same as You'' as a coherent work".<ref name="AAJ" /> The online review site musicOMH state that "this music emphasises an unhurried, thoughtful approach to life that is beautifully at odds with the noise of a bustling metropolis in a General Election year".<ref name="MOHM">{{cite web | url= http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/polar-bear-same-as-you | title= Polar Bear – Same as You (review) | work = musicOMH| date = 25 March 2015| accessdate = 29 May 2015| last = Shepherd| first = Sam}}</ref> "The clear highlight comes with "Don't Let The Feeling Go", a protracted chant-along and the album's centrepiece" states the review at Drowned in Sound, calling the song "spiky, catchy, bright, positive and fun, which, really, is ''Same as You'' all over."<ref name="DIS">{{cite web| url = http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18738/reviews/4148894| title = Polar Bear Same as You review| work = Drowned in Sound| date = 13 April 2015| accessdate = 29 May 2015| last = Burrows| first = Marc| archive-date = 15 April 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150415225326/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18738/reviews/4148894| url-status = dead}}</ref> ''The Line of Best Fit'' write that "''Same as You'' isn't going to be the most exciting release from Polar Bear you'll hear, but it is a solid and entirely welcome release from a band who rarely put a foot wrong".<ref name="TLOBF">{{cite web | url=http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/polar-bear-same-as-you |title=Polar Bear – Same as You |publisher=The Line of Best Fit | date= 24 March 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Bell | first=John }}</ref> AllMusic call this Polar Bear's "most musically satisfying album", writing that "there is a compelling meld of styles here, but the thread that ties its various elements together is the rhythm section's exploration of dub".<ref name="AM">{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/same-as-you-mw0002811123 | title=AllMusic review | publisher=AllMusic | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Jureck | first=Thom}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' write that ''Same as You'' is "every bit as sonically spellbinding and cohesive as ''In Each and Every One'' describing the album as "another uncategorisable and understated triumph" in their five star review.<ref name="guard">{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/26/polar-bear-the-same-as-you-review | title=Polar Bear: The Same As You review – another uncategorisable, understated triumph | work=The Guardian | date=26 March 2015 | accessdate=29 May 2015 | last=Fordham | first=John | author-link=John Fordham (jazz critic)}}</ref>
==Track listing==
All tracks written by Sebastian Rochford, except "Life Love and Light" written by Rochford and Asar Mikael
# "Life Love and Light" – 03:09 # "We Feel the Echoes" – 10:24 # "The First Steps" – 5:24 # "Of Hi Lands" – 7:40 # "Don't Let the Feeling Go" – 7:30 # "Unrelenting Unconditional" – 19:52
==Personnel== '''Polar Bear''' * Mark Lockheart – tenor saxophone * Pete Wareham – tenor saxophone * Tom Herbert – double bass * Leafcutter John – electronics * Sebastian Rochford – drums, vocals
'''Additional musicians''' * Asar Mikael – spoken word (1) * Shabaka Hutchings – tenor saxophone (5) * Hannah Darling – vocals (5) * Gar Robertson – vocals (5) * Poppy Mullings – vocal sounds (3)
== References == {{reflist|30em}} {{Polar Bear (British band)}} {{Authority control}}
Category:2015 albums Category:Polar Bear (British band) albums Category:The Leaf Label albums