Polar Twins

Maybe The Moon Polar Twins

Maybe The Moon is the second album of Polar Twins, the duo formed by singer/accordionist Dirk Polak (frontman of Mecano Un-Ltd) and singer/guitarist Mark Ritsema (frontman of Spasmodique). Their highly acclaimed debut album Wee Small Hours At Swansneck (2013) consisted mainly of songs that were inspired by their European travels. For their sophomore album we find the two baritones mostly at home in Amsterdam (Dirk) or Rotterdam (Mark) musing over favourite subjects like art, poetry, literature and music. This resulted in a collection of melodic yet brooding songs in German, French and English, that are full of abstract poetry, surrealism and weltschmerz. At the Studio SanteBoutique of co-producer Edwin Willemen, the material was richly arranged with strings, electric and acoustic guitars and mallet percussion, backed by the solid rhythm section of Joeri Rook (drums) and Peter Jessen (double and electric bass). The voices of Polar Twins and the way the rich and dark baritone of Dirk blends with the slightly more hoarse baritone of Mark, remain their strongest asset. The well-crafted and co-written songs of the duo reveal influences of artrock, prog-folk and baroque pop. They like to call it European folk music.