chrysanthemum ep is the first new recording from kelley polar since his hugely successful debut album released in 2005, love songs of the hanging gardens. the seeds of chrysanthemum are described by mr. polar himself as a confluence of the apocalyptic fear that permeated all cold war childhoods, comic book illustrations of blood and violence abstracted into flora and a b grade science fiction novels portraying two teens in the final throes of lovemaking as the world is destroyed in nuclear apocalypse. yet despite this decidedly dark and unique approach, the song is nevertheless pure pop catchy and indelible once heard. rosenband is lighter in subject matter yet just as deep musically, filled with synthetic layers and rhythms that reveal themselves slowly on subsequent listens. despite the immediacy of the melodies, there is a detail that permeates all of kelley polars work and rewards the attentive listener. a completely reworked instrumental version of rosenband is stretched across the b side and is dare we say it a dancefloor killer, with a long, mix friendly intro building to an incredible crescendo. the track is arranged and mixed by morgan geist and was done so with djs in mind!