Polvo

All Music Guide:

One of the most popular and accomplished bands in the arty, noisy indie rock offshoot dubbed math rock, Polvo touched on many of the genre's hallmarks: dissonant, intricately layered guitars that often employed alternate tunings; odd, off-kilter rhythms; an emphasis on dense sonic texture; and unorthodox song structures that, nonetheless, were often unconventionally melodic. Additionally, their music had a pronounced Eastern feel that came not only from the Indian and Middle Eastern-style drones in their compositions, but actual Asian instruments as well. The combination helped set them apart from other post-Sonic Youth/Slint guitar experimentalists.

Polvo formed in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC, a college town that housed one of the more fertile and eclectic indie scenes of the '90s. The band's lineup consisted of vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson, and drummer Eddie Watkins. Bowie and Brylawski met in a Spanish class at the University of North Carolina, and discovered a mutual admiration for both the SST roster and the progressive end of the classic rock spectrum. Although an erratic live presence at first, the band earned a strong local following and released the seven-song double-7" Can I Ride on Kitchen Puff in 1991. (The record was later reissued as Polvo.) They subsequently signed with the Chapel Hill-based indie label Merge -- run by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, a high-school classmate of Brylawski and Popson -- and issued their debut album, Cor-Crane Secret, in 1992. Reviews were mostly favorable, and -- propelled by tours with Superchunk and Babes in Toyland -- the band garnered a devoted cult audience that remained fairly steady throughout its existence. Today's Active Lifestyles followed in 1993, refining the group's approach, and it was followed in turn by two EPs, 1994's Celebrate the New Dark Age and 1995's This Eclipse.

Polvo subsequently switched to the Chicago-based Touch & Go label, which was more associated with challenging, noisy guitar rock than Merge. Their debut for the label was 1996's double-length Exploded Drawing, an eclectic, progressive effort that began to delve more explicitly into the guitarists' fascination with Asian musics. Drummer Watkins left the band afterward and was replaced by Brian Walsby. The rest of the group was beginning to drift apart as well; Brylawski moved to New York City to play with Asian musicians (and also traveled to India), while Bowie started dating Helium frontwoman Mary Timony and relocated to Boston to play bass with her band. Polvo reconvened in 1997 to record Shapes, and rumors that it would be their final album proved true when they amicably disbanded later that year.

Bowie had been creating homemade four-track recordings of material that wasn't quite right for Polvo, and he eventually turned it into a solo project. Adopting the name Libraness, he debuted with Yesterday...and Tomorrow's Shells in 2000 on the Tiger Style label. Brylawski, meanwhile, joined the North Carolina-based, world-inflected trio Idyll Swords, which released two albums on Communion. Polvo ultimately reunited in 2008, however, ending a decade-long hiatus with a performance at the 2008 All Tomorrow's Parties festival. Following that show, the bandmates continued working together, and 2009 found them releasing their fifth studio album with In Prism.

Wikipedia:

Polvo is an American indie noise rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band, formed in 1990, is fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski. Brian Quast plays drums, and Steve Popson plays bass guitar. Eddie Watkins was the band's original drummer, but did not rejoin the band upon its reunion in 2008.

Polvo is widely considered to be standard bearer of a genre which came to be known as math rock, although in interviews the band disavowed that categorization. Their sound was defined by complex and dissonant guitar harmonies and driving rhythm, complementing cryptic, often surrealist lyrics. Their sound was so unpredictable and angular that the band's guitarists were often accused of failing to play with correctly tuned guitars. Polvo's songs and artwork frequently featured Asian/"exotic" themes and references. The band's name means "octopus" in Portuguese and "powder" or "dust" in Spanish; in Spain it also is a slang word for sex.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Biography[edit]

Polvo formed in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC. Their original lineup consisted of vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson and drummer Eddie Watkins. Bowie and Brylawski met in a Spanish class at the University of North Carolina and shared an affinity for both SST Records and Let's Active. Polvo's first recording was Can I Ride, a double 7" single released on the band's Kitchen Puff Records label in 1991. It was later re-released on CD as the Polvo EP on micro-indie Jesus Christ Records. The band then released two full length albums, two EPs, and several 7"s on Merge Records, a label run by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, a high-school classmate of Brylawski and Popson. Merge Records issued their debut album, Cor-Crane Secret, in 1992. Today's Active Lifestyles followed in 1993, refining the group's approach, and it was followed in turn by two EPs, 1994's Celebrate the New Dark Age and 1995's This Eclipse. Today's Active Lifestyles was later reissued with an alternative cover without the lion image on it, because of a copyright lawsuit brought by the painter of the album.

The band makes an appearance in the 1994 cult road movie Half-cocked.

Two albums were released after the band signed to the larger label Touch and Go Records. Their debut for the label was 1996's double-length Exploded Drawing, an eclectic, progressive effort that began to delve more explicitly into the guitarists' fascination with Asian music. Drummer Watkins amicably left the band afterward to pursue career and family interests. The rest of the group was beginning to drift apart as well. Brylawski moved to New York City to attend graduate school and also traveled to India, while Bowie had already relocated to Boston by 1994 to join then-girlfriend, Helium frontwoman Mary Timony. Polvo reconvened in 1997 to record Shapes with new drummer Brian Walsby. Both Touch and Go releases featured a darker, more progressive rock-oriented sound instead of their earlier, post-punk influenced style. Rumors that it would be their final album proved true when they amicably disbanded later that year, ending their farewell US tour with a two-night stand at hometown club Cat's Cradle.

They were critically acclaimed from the outset, at least among those critics who were into nontraditional/ underground rock. Additionally, their music had a pronounced Eastern feel that came not only from the Indian and Middle Eastern-style drones in their compositions, but actual Eastern instruments like the sitar as well.

Breakup[edit]

The group disbanded in February 1998 after a farewell tour in support of Shapes. In 2000 Bowie released an album of home recordings on the Tiger Style label, called Yesterday...and Tomorrow's Shells under the name Libraness. He has since appeared with (current Polvo drummer Brian Quast's band) the BQ's and recorded and toured with Fan Modine. Bowie and Quast had also been working on tracks for a new Libraness album. Brylawski later played in the North Carolina-based Indonesian music-influenced band Idyll Swords, which released two albums on Communion, and currently is a member of The Black Taj, as is Steve Popson. Watkins currently plays drums in Dr. Powerful.

Reunion[edit]

Polvo reformed with new drummer Brian Quast, formerly of Vanilla Trainwreck and the Cherry Valence, after being invited to appear at All Tomorrow's Parties 2008 and the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain. They have since played several shows in the US, including the Northwest Music Fest in Portland, OR [1]. Polvo entered the studio in mid-March 2009 to record their first album in 12 years. They recorded with Brian Paulson at Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC.

A full live set from a benefit show at Cat's Cradle on August 17, 2008, featuring new songs and reworked versions of old songs, is available to purchase online. This album benefits the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University, in memory of Cy Rawls.

Polvo played another reunion set at Cat's Cradle in July 2009 in honor of Merge Records' 20th anniversary and a free show in New York City on July 31 as part of the Seaport Music Festival with Obits (the show was originally scheduled for the South Street Seaport pier in Manhattan but was moved to the Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg due to inclement weather).

Polvo re-signed to Merge Records, which released their new album In Prism on September 8, 2009.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Touring[edit]

Polvo toured North America numerous times, including outings with Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Pavement, Superchunk, Pipe, Sonic Youth, Unwound, Trumans Water, Sleepyhead, Trans Am, Dungbeetle, and Spatula. They toured twice in the UK and once in Europe, playing with Sebadoh, Babes in Toyland, and Superchunk.

Polvo performed shows in 2010 with Versus.

Sources[edit]