''Chasing Hamburg'', is the second studio album and fourth official release from the

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long ...

-based

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Polar Bear Club Polar Bear Club was an American post-hardcore band from Rochester and Syracuse in upstate New York. Formed in 2005, the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with vocalist Jimmy Stadt and lead guitarist Chris Browne as the only consistent me ...

. It is the follow-up to their teaser EP, ''

The Summer of George "The Summer of George" is the 156th episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It was also the 22nd and final episode of the eighth season. It originally aired on May 15, 1997 on NBC. In this episode, after being fired from the New York Yankees, George ...

'', and received mostly favourable reviews.

Background and recording

On January 8, 2009, the band announced they had signed to independent label

Bridge Nine Records Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...

. Drummer Emmett Menke said the group had been in discussions with labels for a while, "and as cliche as it sounds, there isn't a better match out there for us." He said that the band were long-time fans of the label, in addition to "the bands they've worked with. It's rare these days to be a part of a label that doesn't feel the need to rest on its laurels and is not afraid to push the envelope." He mentioned that the band had been writing a new album for two weeks up to that point. Their next album was expected to the be released some time in the fall. In mid-January, it was mentioned that the band would be recording in three months' time. In March 2009, they went on a short East Coast tour with

Have Heart Have Heart was an American straight edge hardcore punk band formed in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 2002. The band recorded a demo that was released in 2003. In 2004, they released the ''What Counts'' EP (Think Fast! Records), with their debut ...

. On April 6, the band began recording with producer

Matt Bayles Matt Bayles (born October 19, 1972) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles (pronounced 'Bay-Less') is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl ...

. Bayles engineered and mixed the album, with assistance from Derek Moree. Ed Brooks mastered the album at RFI.

Release

In early May, the band went on a brief west coast tour with Living with Lions. In late May and early June, the band toured the UK with Ruiner and

Defeater A defeater of a belief is evidence that this belief is false. Defeaters are of particular interest to epistemology since they affect whether a belief is justified. An important distinction is between undercutting and rebutting defeaters. Undercu ...

. On May 28, 2009, ''Chasing Hamburg'' was announced for release in three months' time. Following this, they supported

Every Time I Die Every Time I Die was an American metalcore band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1998. For most of the band's career, the line-up was centred on brothers Keith (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), as well as rhythm guitarist Andy Williams wi ...

on a few North American shows. On June 18, 2009, the album's artwork and track listing were posted online. ''The Summer of George EP'' was released on July 28, 2009, featuring two songs from the album, "Living Saints" and "Boxes", alongside the exclusive song "Dead Man". In August 2009, the band supported Set Your Goals and

Four Year Strong Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jake Massucco. They have released seven studio ...

on their co-headlining US tour, which was followed by an appearance at the

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

in the UK. Shortly after this, "One Hit Back" was posted online. It released on September 8, 2009 through Bridge Nine Records. To promote the album, the band played a handful of New York shows and then supported Face to Face on their US East Coast tour. Following this, they went on a US tour in October and November 2009, with

Strike Anywhere Strike Anywhere is an American punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band, Inquisition, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is cha ...

, Crime in Stereo and Ruiner. The trek included a performance at

The Fest The Fest is an annual music festival in Gainesville, Florida, United States, organized by Tony Weinbender, formerly of No Idea Records. It is a predominantly punk rock and pop-punk festival, though there are also a good number of indie rock, ...

. Following this, Polar Bear Club supported

Thrice Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school. Early in their career, the band was known ...

on their headlining US tour until the end of the year. On November 10, 2009, a music video was released for "Light of Local Eyes". Following an Australian tour in January 2010 with

Break Even Break-even (or break even), often abbreviated as B/E in finance, (sometimes called point of equilibrium) is the point of balance making neither a profit nor a loss. Any number below the break-even point constitutes a loss while any number above it ...

and the Gifthorse, Polar Bear Club went on a European tour with

Shook Ones Shook Ones may refer to: * Shook Ones (band), an American musical group * "Shook Ones" (song), a 1994 song by Mobb Deep *"Shook Ones (Part II) "Shook Ones (Part II)" is the lead single from Mobb Deep's 1995 album ''The Infamous, The Infamous...'' ...

and Title Fight in February and March 2010. In March and April 2010, the band went on a US tour alongside

and

Trapped Under Ice Trapped Under Ice is an American hardcore punk band from Baltimore, Maryland that was formed in 2007. Since then they have released an EP and three full-length albums. Taking influence from New York hardcore, the band has toured all over the wor ...

, and then appeared at Skatefest and Bled Fest. During this trek, a music video was released for "Living Saints", directed by Thomas Colella. It is a "conceptual piece" akin to the video for "

Sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

" (1986) by

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

. Following a headlining tour with support from Moving Mountains,

Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...

and Living with Lions, Polar Bear Club performed on

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

through to July 2010.

Track listing

All songs written by Polar Bear Club.

Release history

Personnel

Personnel per booklet. Polar Bear Club * Jimmy Stadt – vocals * Chris Browne – guitar * Nate Morris – guitar * Emmett Menke – drums * Erik Henning – bass Additional musicians *

– keyboard (tracks 3, 7 and 10) * Pat Flynn – yelling (track 1) * Aaron Scott – vocals (track 7) * Ty Vaughn – gang vocals (tracks 2, 9 and 10) Production * Matt Bayles – producer, engineer, mixing * Derek Moree – assistant engineer * Ed Brooks – mastering * The Black Axe – layout, design

References

{{Authority control Polar Bear Club albums 2009 albums Bridge 9 Records albums