Polara

After the 27 Various disbanded, Minneapolis singer and guitarist Ed Ackerson assembled Polara alongside Peter Anderson on drums, Jennifer Jurgens handling guitar, vocals, and organ, plus Jason Orris on bass and vocals. Earlier material by Ackerson had drawn from 1960s pop sources, yet Polara shifted toward 1970s Krautrock, wrapping his melodic songwriting in layers of keyboards, samplers, and electronics. The band's self-titled 1995 debut earned broad critical praise and sparked a bidding war among major labels. After inking with Interscope, the group returned in 1996 via the Pantomime EP, followed the next year by the album C'est la Vie. When Formless/Functional arrived in 1998, Interscope was already negotiating its absorption into the parent corporation, and Polara found itself among the acts dropped once that merger occurred in 1999. Ackerson then devoted time to producing records for others and eventually launched his own Minneapolis studio. He also founded the independent Susstones imprint to release work by Minnesota artists outside the major system. Still intent on reviving Polara, he reentered the studio in 2002 with Jurgens and new bassist Dan Boen to complete Jetpack Blues, the first release on his own label.