Biography
Polvo ranked among the leading acts in the intricate, abrasive indie-rock niche known as math rock, weaving together many of its core traits: dissonant, multi-layered guitars frequently played in alternate tunings; irregular, unbalanced rhythms; a focus on thick sonic density; and unconventional arrangements that nevertheless often revealed unexpected melodic qualities. Their sound also carried a distinct Eastern flavor, arising both from Indian and Middle Eastern-style drones woven into the compositions and from the inclusion of actual Asian instruments. That blend helped distinguish them from other post-Sonic Youth/Slint guitar experimentalists.
The group came together in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC, a college town whose vibrant and varied indie community ranked among the most productive of the decade. Its original members were vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson, and drummer Eddie Watkins. Bowie and Brylawski first crossed paths in a Spanish class at the University of North Carolina, where they found shared enthusiasm for the SST roster and the progressive wing of classic rock. Though initially inconsistent onstage, the quartet built a loyal local audience and put out the seven-song double-7" Can I Ride on Kitchen Puff in 1991. (The release later reappeared under the title Polvo.) They next signed with the Chapel Hill indie imprint Merge—operated by Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan, a high-school classmate of Brylawski and Popson—and delivered their first full-length, Cor-Crane Secret, in 1992. Critical notices were largely positive, and after touring alongside Superchunk and Babes in Toyland the band attracted a devoted cult following that held steady through its career. Today’s Active Lifestyles arrived in 1993, sharpening the quartet’s methods, and was succeeded by a pair of EPs: Celebrate the New Dark Age in 1994 and This Eclipse in 1995.
Polvo then moved to Chicago’s Touch & Go label, more closely identified with demanding, noisy guitar rock than Merge. Their first release on the imprint was the double-length Exploded Drawing in 1996, an eclectic, progressive statement that began to explore the guitarists’ interest in Asian musics more openly. Watkins departed soon afterward and was succeeded by Brian Walsby. The remaining members were also drifting in different directions; Brylawski relocated to New York City to collaborate with Asian musicians (and journeyed to India), while Bowie began a relationship with Helium frontwoman Mary Timony and moved to Boston to play bass in her group. The band regrouped in 1997 to record Shapes, and speculation that the album would be their last proved accurate when they parted on amicable terms later that year.
Bowie had already been making four-track home recordings of songs unsuited to Polvo, which he later developed into a solo outlet. Under the name Libraness he issued Yesterday...and Tomorrow’s Shells in 2000 on Tiger Style. Brylawski, for his part, joined the North Carolina-based, world-inflected trio Idyll Swords, which released two albums on Communion. Polvo eventually reformed in 2008, breaking a ten-year absence with a set at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. After that appearance the musicians kept working together, resulting in their fifth studio album, In Prism, in 2009. Four years after that comeback release they returned with Siberia in 2013.
The group came together in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC, a college town whose vibrant and varied indie community ranked among the most productive of the decade. Its original members were vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson, and drummer Eddie Watkins. Bowie and Brylawski first crossed paths in a Spanish class at the University of North Carolina, where they found shared enthusiasm for the SST roster and the progressive wing of classic rock. Though initially inconsistent onstage, the quartet built a loyal local audience and put out the seven-song double-7" Can I Ride on Kitchen Puff in 1991. (The release later reappeared under the title Polvo.) They next signed with the Chapel Hill indie imprint Merge—operated by Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan, a high-school classmate of Brylawski and Popson—and delivered their first full-length, Cor-Crane Secret, in 1992. Critical notices were largely positive, and after touring alongside Superchunk and Babes in Toyland the band attracted a devoted cult following that held steady through its career. Today’s Active Lifestyles arrived in 1993, sharpening the quartet’s methods, and was succeeded by a pair of EPs: Celebrate the New Dark Age in 1994 and This Eclipse in 1995.
Polvo then moved to Chicago’s Touch & Go label, more closely identified with demanding, noisy guitar rock than Merge. Their first release on the imprint was the double-length Exploded Drawing in 1996, an eclectic, progressive statement that began to explore the guitarists’ interest in Asian musics more openly. Watkins departed soon afterward and was succeeded by Brian Walsby. The remaining members were also drifting in different directions; Brylawski relocated to New York City to collaborate with Asian musicians (and journeyed to India), while Bowie began a relationship with Helium frontwoman Mary Timony and moved to Boston to play bass in her group. The band regrouped in 1997 to record Shapes, and speculation that the album would be their last proved accurate when they parted on amicable terms later that year.
Bowie had already been making four-track home recordings of songs unsuited to Polvo, which he later developed into a solo outlet. Under the name Libraness he issued Yesterday...and Tomorrow’s Shells in 2000 on Tiger Style. Brylawski, for his part, joined the North Carolina-based, world-inflected trio Idyll Swords, which released two albums on Communion. Polvo eventually reformed in 2008, breaking a ten-year absence with a set at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. After that appearance the musicians kept working together, resulting in their fifth studio album, In Prism, in 2009. Four years after that comeback release they returned with Siberia in 2013.
Albums
