Polvo
Shapes
»
Polvo
Shapes
Touch & Go, 1997
RiYL: Sonic Youth, Sebadoh, Versus, Modest Mouse |
The first seven songs might confuse fans of the detuned guitar majesty that has earned the band constant comparison to Sonic Youth. "Enemy Insects" wouldn't sound out of place on a Versus album, its slow, hushed vocals leading into a high-pitched, almost symphonic melodic interlude.
"The Fighting Kites" is a short sitar instrumental that morphs into "Rock Post Rock," which could pass for a Stone Roses track if one didn't know better. Hyper, cymbal-heavy drumming by Brian Walsby and repeated thin riffs offer some semblance of Polvo's typical herky-jerky rock, but not much.
Indeed, there's some real experimentation to be found on Shapes. Check out the Pink Floyd-esque sprawl of "Downtown Dedication," accentuated by organ licks, a trumpet solo and Ash Bowie's perpetually buried vocals. Or try the chanted mantra "The Golden Ladder," the garage grind of "D.D. (S.R.)" and the sitar jangle of "Pulchritude" for added abstraction.
Polvo finally gets down to business on "Everything In Flames," sandwiching totally distorted vocals between whining twin guitars and robotic drumming. The 12-minute instrumental masterpiece "El Rocio" is one of the most ambitious tunes Polvo has ever penned, bubbling with intensity but never slipping over the edge.
Slightly disappointing for its weirdness and paucity of pure rock, Shapes nevertheless reasserted Polvo as one of the select group of bands able to squeeze creativity out of its guitars. The band called it a career after a final tour in support of the album, with Bowie joining Helium full-time and readying a solo album for the Tiger Style label.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"