Polvo

In Prism

Merge

Sep 10, 2009 Web Exclusive By John Everhart Bookmark and Share


A beacon of vitality in the over-cerebral math rock scene of the '90s, Polvo ostensibly broke up in 1997 after releasing the polarizing, Eastern-tinged Shapes, a maddeningly ambitious record distantly removed from the avant-garde dissonance of their early discography. They've re-emerged with In Prism, and as far as unheralded reunions go, this one's a smashing success. It's a sprawling, psychedelic masterwork, rife with knotty tangles of discordance and serpentine riffs.

And when the majesty of the simmering dustbowl reverie "A Link in the Chain" finally comes to a seething boil, it becomes obvious that this band is the gloriously arcane link in the chain between Pavement and Sonic Youth, two longtime champions of the act. (www.myspace.com/polvotheband)

Author rating: 6/10

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Average reader rating: 9/10



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juan
September 10th 2009
6:12pm

“smashing success” = 6/10?

John Everhart
September 11th 2009
6:10pm

It’s a fine record, but not quite worthy of a 7 or 8, which are reserved for top twenty of the year candidates, which this honestly isn’t for me. But if you’re a fan of Polvo, you’ll like it, and even if you aren’t, it’s an excellent invitation to explore their great back catalog. And “smashing success” is removed from its context of “As far as unheralded reunions go,” as many are downright insipid, and this one is anything but that.