Polvo’s sound was fashioned from the detuned, molten guitar rock of Sonic Youth, but during college radio’s golden age (1991-1996) this Chapel Hill quartet were the pinnacle of transcendent, six string interchange. The guitars of Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski were ever entangled in a sandstorm of shifting movement and sudden explosion. Melded to the careening drums of Eddie Watkins and the bass of Steve Popson, Polvo’s guitar attack begins to reveal a bevy of unexpectedly catchy songs, “Sure Shot,” “Tilebreaker,” and “Time Isn’t On My Side” among them. “Thermal Treasure” is a throttling opener that appeals as much to fans of Metallica as it does fans of Sonic Youth, while “Gemini Cusp” closes the album with a regal dirge. Even when they were at their most restless and esoteric — the constantly changing tempos, the vocals fully buried under a mass of amplified guitar — Polvo were headbanging hard rock music. Today’s Active Lifestyles is woven with the thread that ties together skaters, metal fans, and indie rockers.
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