Kelley Polar: I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling

"I could spend a thousand years just drifting

through your atmosphere," Kelley Polar sings on "Satellites," his second

album's central track—meaning both that it's in the middle of the song

sequence, and that its polite pulse, plinking keyboards, and mildly catchy

vocal melody stand in for the album as a whole. Like 2005's Love Songs Of

The Hanging Gardens,

I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling updates frosty '80s

synth-pop knowingly, but without resorting to kitsch. Unfortunately, Polar's

smarts don't necessarily translate to memorable material. He's better with

funkier grooves, as on the opener, "A Feeling Of The All-Thing," or when he

digs into his gear with the synth whorls of "Zeno Of Elea." Like a lot of

electronic-minded folks, he's got more to say with his sound than his words;

the less he worries about "writing real songs," the better.