Through the tinted windows of the bus, I could imagine that I was staring out through snow fields instead of the infinite desert.
I was ill-prepared to endure the August heat, which was upwards of 115 degrees. I tried to rest and began to visualize walking among the ruins while pane after pane of beige emptiness passed the window. Suddenly, an interruption; a sign for the lone crossroads between Bagdad and Amman. And just as quickly, it was behind me and I was back to the stillness.
The Independent’s music editor and Pitchfork contributor, Grayson Currin, went on a short east coast tour with Polvo earlier this summer. Read the feature now and get In Prism in the Merge store.
Polvo will finish up their fall tour at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC on Saturday.
Noisevox presents live performance video and an interview with John Norris from Polvo’s recent New York show.
Get In Prism on CD, double LP or digital download now in the Merge store.
From NPR.org’s All Songs Considered:
The Chapel Hill, NC band Polvo made a name for itself in the 1990s with off-kilter rhythms, dissonant guitars and cryptic wordplay. The band broke up in 1998, but is back with its first new studio album in 12 years. It’s called In Prism.
Order Polvo’s new album, In Prism, on limited edition double-LP, CD and digital download in the Merge store.
Polvo will join The Yeah Yeah’s, The Breeders, Modest Mouse and more to celebrate ten years of ATP from December 11-13 at Butlin’s Holiday Centre in Minehead, England.
Tickets are on sale now. Visit the All Tomorrow’s Parties website for full line-up and travel information. Polvo’s new record, In Prism, is available on limited edition double-LP, CD and digital download now in the Merge store!
Paste caught up with Dave from Polvo to talk about In Prism and being the resident office rock star. Pitchfork gave In Prism a great review, too! Polvo have tour dates, and you can pre-order their album on CD or Double LP in the Merge store for a chance to win a free SCORE! box set.
The Clean released a new MP3 from Mister Pop today exclusively at RCRD LBL. Also, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted chatted with Hamish about the challenges and rewards of being a band on two continents. Pre-order The Clean’s Mister Pop on CD in the Merge store for a chance to win a SCORE! box set.
Pre-order Polvo, The Clean AND Our Noise by September 8 for THREE chances to win the SCORE! box set!
Time is running out on our fantastic September Pre-Order contest!
To kick off the fall new release season, we will automatically enter everyone who pre-orders one (or all) of our September releases to win a complete SCORE! box set subscription. To be eligible, orders must be received prior to September 8.
Visit the Merge store to pre-order new albums from Polvo and The Clean as well as Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records for your chance to win!
If you have already pre-ordered any of our September releases, you will automatically be entered. And, yes, if you pre-order more than one September release (Polvo, The Clean, Our Noise), you get more than one chance to win!
photo by Ashley Worley
From Wired.com:
Not that Brylawski, whose brainy band vaporized conventional musical structure with hypnotic results on efforts like its 1992 debut Cor-Crane Secret and 1996’s Exploded Drawing before disbanding, rejects critical or commercial vernacular. He just thinks math rock is too narrow to describe his band’s output.
“I understand the need to classify bands,” he said, “but if you have to put us in a box, I guess I prefer ‘psychedelic.’”
Read the full interview with Brylawski here.
The new Polvo album, In Prism, will be released on September 8 on CD, DBL-LP, and digital download. Pre-order your copy now in the Merge store for a chance to win a SCORE! subscription box set.
On September 8, Merge will release new albums from The Clean and Polvo. Both albums are available to stream and for pre-order in the Merge store.
The Clean – Mister Pop
Mister Pop sees The Clean continue the great pop pastiche they began in 1978. Circus ragas (“Moonjumper”), gorgeously hazy sunset anthems (“In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul”), and the sometimes-loose Dada approach to wordsmithery continue right alongside “proper” lyrical forays, and a few Autobahn-referential instrumental moments to boot (“Tensile”). Robert Scott’s love of pastoral UK folk has brought some added weight into the overall Clean equation, as does David Kilgour’s Eastern and African guitar jones, though all this has always fit in with—and still constitutes—the total basis of the Clean sound journey.
Polvo – In Prism
Polvo formed in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC. Their lineup consisted of vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson, and drummer Eddie Watkins. The band released 2 full-length albums and 2 EPs on Merge Records, and 2 full-length albums for Touch and Go before disbanding in 1997. Polvo, joined by drummer Brian Quast (Cherry Valence), reformed in 2008 when asked to perform at ATP by Explosions in the Sky. Several festival shows followed, and new songs emerged. The Philadelphia Weekly said in a recent preview, “In the 1990s, no one used more hard angles, sharp turns and squirrelly tunings than the dos guitarra barrage of Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski.”
“the noise-rockers are still in fine, angular, all-over-the-map form.” ~Stereogum.com
| April | ||
| 19 | Manchester | Deaf Institute |
| 20 | London | Corsica Studios |
| 21 | Amsterdam | Paradiso |
| 22 | Brussels | Beursschouwburg |
| 23 | Paris | Le Point Ephemere |
| [see all] | ||
| March | ||
| 15 | Minneapolis, MN | Cedar Cultural Center |
| 16 | Madison, WI | High Noon Saloon |
| 17 | Chicago, IL | Lincoln Hall |
| 18 | Ann Arbor, MI | Blind Pig |
| 19 | Toronto, ON | The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern |
| [see all] | ||
| March | ||
| 19 | New York, NY | Bowery Electric |
| March | ||
| 15 | New York, NY | The Knitting Factory |
| 18 | Austin , TX | Cedar Street |
| 21 | El Paso, TX | Black Market |
| 22 | Scottsdale, AZ | Chyro Arts |
| 23 | Los Angeles, CA | Bootleg Theater |
| [see all] | ||
| March | ||
| 15 | Atlanta, GA | The Earl |
| 16 | Baton Rouge, LA | Red Star Bar |
| 18 | Austin, TX | Home Slice Pizza |
| 18 | Austin, TX | Cedar Street Courtyard |
| April | ||
| 03 | Harrisonburg, VA | Clementine Cafe' |
| [see all] | ||
| April | ||
| 02 | Brooklyn, NY | Knitting Factory |
| March | ||
| 26 | Los Angeles, CA | Spaceland |
| March | ||
| 19 | Asheville, NC | UNCA Alumni Hall in Highsmith |
| 20 | Carrboro, NC | Cat's Cradle |
| May | ||
| 08 | Beaufort, NC | Beaufort Music Festival |
| March | ||
| 15 | Los Angeles, CA | Largo at the Coronet |
| 25 | Los Angeles, CA | El Rey Theatre |
| 27 | Savannah, GA | Trustees Theatre (Savannah Music Festival) |
| 29 | New York, NY | Bowery Ballroom |
| 30 | New York, NY | Bowery Ballroom |
| [see all] | ||
| March | ||
| 23 | Rostock | MAU |
| 24 | Hamburg | Uebel & Gefahrlich |
| 25 | Berlin | Astra |
| 26 | Dresden | Reithalle |
| 27 | Munchen | Backstage Werk |
| [see all] | ||
| March | ||
| 18 | New Orleans, LA | Republic New Orleans |
| 19 | Birmingham, AL | Workplay Soundstage |
| 20 | Atlanta, GA | Tabernacle |
| 22 | Washington | 9:30 Club |
| 23 | Washington | 9:30 Club |
| [see all] | ||
| March | ||
| 19 | Austin, TX | La Zona Rosa |
| April | ||
| 07 | Toronto, ON | Royal Cinema |
| June | ||
| 19 | Denver, CO | Westword Music Festival |
| May | ||
| 21 | Eugene, OR | Sam Bond's Garage |
| 24 | Solana Beach, CA | Belly Up Tavern |
| 25 | Los Angeles, CA | Troubadour |
| 27 | San Francisco, CA | Great American Music Hall |
| 29 | Portland, OR | Wonder Ballroom |
| [see all] | ||
| March | ||
| 14 | Indianapolis, IN | Vollrath Tavern |
| 15 | Memphis, TN | Hi-Tone Cafe |
| 24 | Atlanta, GA | The Earl |
| 25 | Chapel Hill, NC | Local 506 |
| 26 | Washington, DC | Rock and Roll Hotel |
| [see all] | ||
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