{"title":"Polvo","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the most popular and accomplished bands in the arty, noisy rock genre, Polvo revels in 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, are often unconventionally melodic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e—adapted from AllMusic.com; written by Steve Huey\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"polvo-this-eclipse","title":"Polvo - This Eclipse","description":"\u003cp\u003eYour favorite guitar stranglers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739167125815,"sku":"MRG095digital","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/89f870a4bf37aacf26fbf999d7f81dc86d3b9c0b_cce64103951630a018a902de64ab1a61b71cf9e8_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380302"},{"product_id":"polvo-celebrate-the-new-dark-age","title":"Polvo - Celebrate The New Dark Age","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/polvo\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePolvo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e's guitar-twisting seven-song EP is a Merge hallmark, complete with great sleeve design by Independent Project Press. \u003ci\u003eCelebrate the New Dark Age\u003c\/i\u003e considered their best output in some circles, and we appreciate those circles.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739170631991,"sku":"MRG056digital","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/f567f76d95dca857cbafba2c7182b426f029648e_b371520cc5e47d3cf53317d0858865d677737c91_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380424"},{"product_id":"polvo-heavy-detour-b-w-anchoress","title":"Polvo - \"Heavy Detour\" b\/w \"Anchoress\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/polvo\"\u003ePolvo\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e returns with brand new music, on this limited-edition vinyl seven inch. Here the band offers artwork by \u003cem\u003eIn Prism’s\u003c\/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/deliciousdesignleague.com\/\"\u003eDelicious Design League\u003c\/a\u003e and music on “licorice-colored vinyl” that “might smell like baseball cards,” to borrow their own description. Recorded in North Carolina and mixed by Mitch Easter, “Heavy Detour” is taken from Polvo’s upcoming album. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Polvo formed in Chapel Hill, NC in 1990 -- a place and period known for its fertile indie scene. The band released two full-length albums and two EPs on Merge Records, plus two full-length albums for Touch and Go before disbanding in 1997. Polvo, joined this time by drummer Brian Quast (Cherry Valence), reformed in 2008 and released the critically acclaimed \u003cem\u003eIn Prism\u003c\/em\u003e the following year.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739173417271,"sku":"MRG427digital","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/e6d0a3207dcba76f8b5a9e09bd563d1083d54fa2_03a36543602df40f5d54c3110d7b27774bcf5064_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380523"},{"product_id":"polvo-siberia","title":"Polvo - Siberia","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuring their initial run from 1990–1998, \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/polvo\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePolvo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e crafted a sound so fantastically obstinate and so perfectly cockeyed that its DNA is essentially resistant to mediocrity or repetition. On \u003ci\u003eSiberia\u003c\/i\u003e, that sound feels more limber and more aerodynamic than ever. Some of that is owed to a looser approach. “Preparing for \u003ca href=\"\/products\/polvo-in-prism\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn Prism\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, we labored over that material pretty intensively,” explains founding guitarist Ash Bowie. “A lot of the songs on this album were not rehearsed much at all. I’d like to think this album has a few more adventurous moments.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn obvious point of comparison would be to \u003ca href=\"\/products\/polvo-today-s-active-lifestyles\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eToday’s Active Lifestyles\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, released—perhaps not coincidentally—exactly 20 years ago. Where that album thrived on a nervous, coiled energy,\u003ci\u003eSiberia\u003c\/i\u003e feels more surefooted, more poised and controlled. It’s the work of a band that’s been here before, but the experience has only made them more at ease. Siberia is a record that’s humming with confidence, the sound of a band with nothing to prove, but proving it anyway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLP includes a coupon for a full download.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739179839799,"sku":"MRG410CD","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739179872567,"sku":"MRG410digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/91f960f67f96e56a4f714964158b6bde97a1e341_1c7435a4c5890f45c1b14c16403323ed980309d0_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1789600313"},{"product_id":"polvo-in-prism","title":"Polvo - In Prism","description":"\u003cp\u003e“With their signature guitar whirl and crunch, Chapel Hill band Polvo helped define the American indie rock sound of the mid-90s” —\u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e+++\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn Prism\u003c\/i\u003e is the best \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/polvo\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePolvo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e record even before you get to the majestic \"A Link in the Chain,\" serene and tempestuous like few other things you'll hear. The album was recorded with Brian Paulson, and Polvo has never sounded better. Polvo spent 1990–98 giving voice to a chorus of discrete rock \u0026amp; roll ideas that really hadn't been heard before. While there was nothing wrong before, it's now so much more right—perhaps because after ten years, after other bands and their tours and records and worries (if they had any), none of the peripheral stuff matters anymore. —Mike Wolf, NYC, June 2009\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Peak Vinyl (Opaque Yellow)","offer_id":52739181281591,"sku":"MRG360lp-C1","price":31.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2-LP (Black)","offer_id":52739181314359,"sku":"MRG360LP","price":30.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739181216055,"sku":"MRG360digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/ec348e8b99f9e3378145acf75090ffd0913c27a2_8ac6d7a94746817c5a4834e13875f8415543755e_medium_jpeg.jpg?v=1785380737"},{"product_id":"polvo-el-cid","title":"Polvo - El Cid","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOriginally released on 7-inch in March 1992, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eEl Cid\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is available here digitally for the first time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTrack two, \"Anything's Fine\", is credited to the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eErectus Monotone\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e + \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/polvo\"\u003ePolvo\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e juggernaut \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eErectus Polvotone\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739185672503,"sku":"MRG021DA","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/ce4fcdcf0b2724089e84e4cdae92722528f7edee_77cf6691cde75bf1e39b7b6ae9722449644071ce_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380868"},{"product_id":"polvo-today-s-active-lifestyles","title":"Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe black vinyl LP reissue of \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/polvo\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePolvo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e’s sophomore album. Redesigned album art includes a heavyweight inner sleeve featuring never-before-seen photos from the band’s archive. Includes digital download card. ***The Peak Vinyl version is sold out on the Merge Records store. Check with your favorite \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/recordstoreday.com\/Stores\"\u003elocal record shop\u003c\/a\u003e to see if they have it in stock!***\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCheck out our new \u003ca href=\"\"\u003ePolvo t-shirt\u003c\/a\u003e as well!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e+++\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eToday’s Active Lifestyles\u003c\/i\u003e, the second full-length by North Carolina rockers \u003cstrong\u003ePolvo\u003c\/strong\u003e, did exactly what a sophomore LP is supposed to do: It expanded the ideas put forth in the first album, gave them a new spin and shine, and presented the “where we are now” to the world. Produced and recorded over four heady days in December 1992 by former Bostonian and ex-\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/volcano-suns\"\u003eVolcano Suns\u003c\/a\u003e bassist Bob Weston (around the time he started in Shellac), \u003ci\u003eToday’s Active Lifestyles\u003c\/i\u003e hit record store shelves in April 1993. From the whizzing crunch of “Thermal Treasure” to the loping, connective “My Kimono”to the 7-minute-plus blowouts “Stinger (Five Wigs)” and closer “Gemini Cusp,” the album asserted its place as a most worthy successor to \u003ci\u003eCor-Crane Secret\u003c\/i\u003e. The foreboding title of a particularly screechy, fuzzy jam, “Time Isn’t on My Side,” proved to be nonsense; \u003ci\u003eToday’s Active Lifestyles\u003c\/i\u003e has aged beautifully.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739227091255,"sku":"MRG040LP","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739227124023,"sku":"MRG040digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/44dc636f5684ee6a34da68ccbaa29cfcc3b6adf7_d64e4577712538191bb655189854e405fb1b5d26_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785381565"},{"product_id":"polvo-polvo-t-shirt","title":"Polvo - Polvo T-shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eRep one of North Carolina’s greatest treasures with this official \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/polvo\"\u003ePolvo \u003c\/a\u003et-shirt, a snake-wielded throwback to the cover of their 1991 \u003ci\u003eVibracobra\u003c\/i\u003e 7-inch! Printed on a Royal Apparel 100% cotton, navy unisex tee.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"XS","offer_id":52739234300215,"sku":"MRG710-TS-XS","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Small","offer_id":52739234201911,"sku":"MRG710-TS-S","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Medium","offer_id":52739234169143,"sku":"MRG710-TS-M","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Large","offer_id":52739234234679,"sku":"MRG710-TS-L","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":52739234332983,"sku":"MRG710-TS-XL","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XXL","offer_id":52739234267447,"sku":"MRG710-TS-XXL","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XXXL","offer_id":52739234365751,"sku":"MRG710-TS-XXXL","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/22a1b82abffa2b97272e750076fba90168ba7db9_c4b1f167cdf434ac4223bf5942022705ca35aa98_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785381791"},{"product_id":"polvo-cor-crane-secret","title":"Polvo - Cor-Crane Secret","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first full-length album from now legendary NC new wavers, featuring the hit \"Can I Ride.\" \u003ca href=\"artist\/polvo\"\u003ePolvo\u003c\/a\u003e blazed new trails with their imaginative guitar work and eastern influences, and this is where it all began.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2020, we reissued \u003ci\u003eCor-Crane Secret \u003c\/i\u003eon vinyl. Redesigned album art includes a heavyweight inner sleeve featuring rare posters and ephemera from the band’s archive. ***The Peak Vinyl version is sold out on the Merge Records store. Check with your favorite \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/recordstoreday.com\/Stores\"\u003elocal record shop\u003c\/a\u003e to see if they have it in stock!***\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e+++\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn January 1992, fresh off the glory that was the band’s 1991 double-7” debut, \u003cstrong\u003ePolvo\u003c\/strong\u003e headed into Duck Kee Studios in Raleigh, NC—aka the place where a lot of early Merge stuff was recorded—to track what became their debut full-length. \u003ci\u003eCor-Crane Secret\u003c\/i\u003e was released in July of that year, the same month as Sonic Youth’s \u003ci\u003eDirty\u003c\/i\u003e and Danzig’s \u003ci\u003eDanzig III: How the Gods Kill\u003c\/i\u003e. (Sadly, a triple bill never happened.)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpening with a new take on “Vibracobra,” a bit of alternately languid and shuddering guitar churn that had appeared on a single the year before (a perfect way to bridge the Polvo of “then” and “now”), \u003ci\u003eCor-Crane Secret\u003c\/i\u003e, with songs such as the herky-jerky “Kalgon” and the youthful-yet-complex “In the Hand, In the Sieve,” established the first iteration of that Polvo sound: intricate guitar melodies, Mr. Bowie’s plain-spoken vocals politely deep beneath the guitar waves, and cool ideas of how guitars could go together all over the place. In an era where guitar bands seemed to be blooming like wildflowers in a particularly fertile cow pasture, \u003ci\u003eCor-Crane Secret\u003c\/i\u003e was a complicated bloom indeed. But Polvo was just getting started.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739238625591,"sku":"MRG022LP","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739238691127,"sku":"MRG022digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/0e24676f25fa5158b708e8363e4b41413ed9f3dd_02dca8cd5e9148fa3c8b5f6f810b36920c0eb82b_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785381926"},{"product_id":"polvo-this-eclipse-t-shirt","title":"Polvo - This Eclipse T-shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarolina Blue cotton unisex tee with multicolor band name screenprinted \u003ca href=\"\/products\/polvo-this-eclipse\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis Eclipse\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e-style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"XS","offer_id":52739327623479,"sku":"MRG095-TS-XS","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Small","offer_id":52739327656247,"sku":"MRG095-TS-S","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/f32d85dc8ef5167d3ce81555ce8cc71113ad564a_0aedb61138b4309fb9430f144392a7aab0cd51f7_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785382361"},{"product_id":"polvo-polvo-reissue","title":"Polvo - Polvo (Reissue)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAll nine tracks from Polvo’s first two releases—\u003ci\u003eCan I Ride \u003c\/i\u003eEP (1990) and “Vibracobra” b\/w “The Drill” (1991)—compiled on one LP.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e+++\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eCheck out the first 18 or so seconds of “Can I Ride,” the title track on the first release by \u003cstrong\u003ePolvo\u003c\/strong\u003e, the two-guitar juggernaut that represented the other side of Chapel Hill indie rock. That two-note riff, and the guitar twang that follows, recalls the opening notes of “The Sprawl,” a key track on Sonic Youth’s epochal \u003ci\u003eDaydream Nation\u003c\/i\u003e, an album released in October 1988, less than two years before Polvo formed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eThis self-titled compilation’s nine tunes are not quite the sound of a torch being passed, but they were a sign that Sonic Youth’s weird tunings, the hardcore punk and proto-indie rock on SST Records, and R.E.M.’s hazy rock (three big influences on this era of Polvo) were changing lives.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739605561655,"sku":"MRG710LP","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739605594423,"sku":"MRG710digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/39006f702d4e727f0aacdcce9e17c69111e3fbcd_eb680697c3cf3a34c52251f1c11845cb860a3dc0_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785384063"},{"product_id":"polvo-polvo-bumper-sticker","title":"Polvo - Polvo Bumper Sticker","description":"\u003cp\u003eA 4\" round vinyl sticker featuring the snake-wielded \u003ci\u003eVibracobra \u003c\/i\u003edesign found on our \u003ca href=\"\/products\/polvo-polvo-t-shirt\"\u003enavy Polvo shirt\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52740175528247,"sku":"MRG710-ST","price":4.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/7f3fa6c2a29cd60a1d1edbc11843cb96f7b1f57d_21d725cac6f1f71a21c13cb4921fc9637cd3d627_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785388674"}],"url":"https:\/\/mergerecords.com\/collections\/polvo.oembed","provider":"Merge Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}