Polvo - Vibracobra 7'' (Rockville, 1991)

Polvo
Vibracobra 7''
Rockville
1991

Rating: 1 billion million out of 10

FUCK YES IT'S FUCKING POLVO GODDAMN I LOVE THIS BAND.

I'm so stoked I finally found a copy of this.  

No review is ever necessary for Polvo.  It's perfect.  The end. 

Polvo / New Radiant Storm King - Split 7'' (Penny Farthing, 1995)

Polvo / New Radiant Storm King
Split 7''
Penny Farthing
1995

Rating: 8 handwriting samples out of 10

This is actually a recent used purchase, and I can't explain the excitement I felt acquiring two vintage Polvo songs from their golden age that I'd never heard before.  Neither of their tracks would be considered hits by this band's standards, but given they sound right out of the "Celebrate the New Dark Age" / "This Eclipse" era, this shit is still gold to me. 

The flip side is two more songs, this time from New Radiant Storm King.  One of those bands I heard about for years but never got around to listening to until now.  You'd call them noise rock I guess, but there is some pop blood running through their veins.  I would have sworn they were on AmRep but their discography says I am wrong...they sorta have that vibe though.  Neither song here is groundbreaking, but I would like to give some of their full-lengths a whirl to come to a little more informed opinion. 

Polvo - Tilebreaker 7'' (Merge, 1993)

Polvo
Tilebreaker 7''
Merge
1993

Rating: 10 bizarre guitars out of 10

Polvo are one of my top ten favorite bands of all time but my seven inch collection of them is very light, this being the only entry.  All three songs are a gem - the title track is also on the excellent "Today's Active Lifestyles" record, a song that I've had memorized for half of my life.  The other side has two short tracks, "The Chameloeon" and "Tiara Fetish," which as far as I know are only available here.  That alone makes this a must-have, and it can be had for a decent price.  Not sure why Merge doesn't at least have the songs for sale, let's get it together label. 

Polvo - Siberia (Merge, 2013)

Polvo
Siberia
Merge
2013

Rating: 8 broken mirrors out of 10

A new record by one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time, Polvo.  Let's not beat around the bush here, it's fuckin' fantastic from this obviously completely unbiased reviewer.  For the most part this sounds like it could have come out after "Cor-Crane Secret" or one of their early classics.  The production is a little better and there are synths and/or keyboards on some of the songs, but if you told me tracks like "Total Immersion" and "Light, Raking" were outtakes from those early years just now getting recorded I would completely believe you.  There isn't a weak spot at any point of the album, just eight songs of Sonic Youth-inspired math rock the way the band was always meant to be.

Polvo - Heavy Detour 7'' (Merge, 2011)

Polvo
Heavy Detour 7''
Merge
2011

Rating: 7.5 iron cones out of 10

This 7” is a preview of the forthcoming Polvo album, which is awesome for two reasons – the songs on the slab are great, and more importantly a new record is coming out soon. Who would have thought even a few years ago that not only would Polvo get back together, but they would be putting out great new material. Not many bands have been able to pull this off – Dinosaur Jr, Mission of Burma, and these guys are the only bands that really come to mind over the last decade or so.

The two songs are clearly very Polvo...the second you hear those oddly tuned guitars it's a no-brainer. But there is a tinge of something else here - “Heavy Detour” is built on, dare I say it, something akin to a disco beat. The b-side “Anchoress” has a melodic, nearly pop feel to it, including breathy backing vocals. Not the sort of thing you would expect out of these guys, but it works. Granted, Polvo is one of my favorite bands of all time and it would be extremely hard for me not to get excited by anything they put out, but I really do think their new post-reunion material stands up well with anything they've put out.