You know, in my younger and more vulnerable years (i.e. two years ago), I didn't really think much of Chapel Hill, North Carolina's native sons, Polvo. They seemed talented as instrumentalists, I thought, but, damn, is it too much to ask they write some fucking songs?
Man. I just didn't get it.
To my younger self: Hey genius, these are songs! Sure they require a calculus degree to figure out their time signatures, but songs they are, nonetheless.
Polvo's style is a pretty weird one, to say the least- a fusion of punked out guitar histrionics, avant-garde riffs, Asian musical motifs and instruments, and the occasional pretty, fragile hook buried in a squall of storming, slashing, howling madness. They remind me of Mission of Burma in a way- like Burma, they don't get easily pigeonholed, their style ranges quite a bit, but their songs couldn't be done by anyone else quite so well. You can spot a Mission of Burma song structure from a hundred paces, same with Polvo's twisted, spazoid guitar notes.
Perfect illustration- from their excellent reunion record, In Prism, here's a personal fave, Beggar's Bowl.
Fuckin' mean hooks there. Love it. It's their most immediately arresting song.
An oldie from the vault- Fast Canoe from '96. First track from Exploded Drawing.
Fantastically tight musicianship, great interplay.
A medley of Fractured (Like Chandeliers) and Solitary Set. This one's got a great slide riff, plus their guitars go Krang! and Brank! which is quite cool shit.
Polvo's work is available on Amazon, iTunes, and elsewhere. Please patronize reunited bands so sensitive indie kids who don't know how to rock can starve.
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