Purling Hiss

Water on Mars

I suspect it would be forcing a point to suggest this album was penned and crafted with actual commercial success in mind, yet the shifted priorities displayed during most of its 33-minute duration open up new (hypothetical) avenues.

On Water on Mars, Polizze makes an effort to show off both sides of his songwriting-- the heavy, gnarly stuff, but also the slacker-pop hooks that made Public Service Announcement stand out. 

While Purling Hiss may not being purveying unchartered territory on the musical map, it’s refreshing to see a band that can put out a very good rock record, one that is not mired by pretentiousness or a desire to do whatever it takes to cash in for popularity. 

The studio polishing shows Polizze’s songwriting strengths, and it doesn’t change the fact that he’s writing from an open, spontaneous place.

It's a strange mixture that is capable of inducing your dirtiest daydreams and guiltiest pleasures to surface in your outermost consciousness with its reckless, unashamedly hormone-stimulating sense of fun.

The cleaner fidelity hasn’t cost the group its edge.