Now Downloading: New Releases 09.08.09

Holy mother of all reunion release weeks. Bands Polvo, Os Mutantes, Prefab Sprout and The Clean all release their first album in a loooong time. Polvo 12 years, Os Mutantes 35 years, the rest fall in between. If that weren't enough, there's also new releases from Vivian Girls, Yo La Tengo, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Health, Visqueen, BLK JKS, Sondre Lerche, a compilation of Damon and Naomi and the physical release of They Might Be Giants' latest kidtastic adventure.

Normally, this would be a jam-packed thematic post with all kinds of passion but Bumbershoot happened, derailing most my normally scheduled posts, so forgive this abbreviated version.

Playlist: New Releases 09.08.09

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Polvo - In Prism
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

The bendy guitars are back! After 12 years, Chapel Hill's Sonic Youth-ites do the unthinkable and return with their finest album yet. Granted, their previous releases were a scattershot of genius moments mixed with WTF. In Prism is a much more focused affair, which will probably turn off a few fans, but for me, it's like the Sonic Youth record we've been waiting for since Daydream Nation. "Right the Relation" is one of the best album openers of the year while "Beggars Banquet," pulls out everything from their bag of tricks.

Preview write-up of In Prism.

Free AOL Album Stream
Download: "Beggar's Bowl" [mp3]

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Os Mutantes - Haih or Amortecedor
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

35 years is a long time to go between releases, and Haih somehow still sounds like an extension of what the Brazilian pych-pop stars were doing those long years ago. The album, while glossed up like a modern release, finds a niche between the early crazy pop and the more prog-rock tendencies of the post-Rita Lee years, even calling back to some of the earlier songs ("2000 e Agarrum" recalls "Dois Mil E Um", for one). Employing help from fellow countrymen Tom Ze and Jorge Ben, along with pych-folk follower Devandra Banhart, the album is the cherry on top of the sundae that was the band reuniting. Highlights include "Querida, Querida" and "Teclar."

Free AOL Album Stream

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
They Might Be Giants - Here Comes Science / "Electric Car", "I Am a Paleontologist" [mp3]
Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs / "Here to Fall," / "Periodically Double or Triple" [mp3]
Prefab Sprout - Andromeda Heights / "In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul," "Tensile" [mp3]
The Clean - Mister Pop
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - 11:11
Visqueen - Message to Garcia
Health - Get Color
BLK JKS - After Robots
Damon and Naomi - The Sub Pop Years
Monotonix - Where Were You When It Happened? / "Set Me Free" [mp3]
Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio

REISSUES
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
The Feelies - the-good-earth
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition

tags: music, album review, os mutantes, polvo, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody

Bendy guitars are back: Polvo's In Prism

In less than two weeks, Polvo will release their best album yet, In Prism. That it comes a dozen years after their last (Shapes) only makes it that sweeter. The album opens with my favorite song right now, "Right the Relation," throwing a gauntlet down that's answered by tracks like "Beggars Bowl" (download) and the closing stunner "A Link in the Chain" (which I liken to The Eagles "I Can't Tell You Why" being re-arranged by Sonic Youth circa 1991 - really).

You can pre-order the album now, but certainly take advantage of the fact that Merge Records are streaming the album for free.

Download: "Beggar's Bowl"

Seeing them on their reunion tour last year was one of my concert going highlights for 2008, and I look forward to seeing them again October 6, at the Crocodile (where I first saw them back in '93 or '94).

Previously: Noise+Math+Rock=Love - Polvo Live (09.05.08)
Guitars Made Out of Rubber - Polvo: The Merge Years 1992-1995

Noise+Math+Rock=Love

90's guitar godhead group Polvo has reunited for the upcoming All Tomorrow's Parties festival, curated this year by the similarly reunited My Bloody Valentine. Part of their warm-up tour took them to our neck of the woods and we were blessed with a face-melting performance.

Playlist: Polvo Setlist, 09.05.08

They even unveiled a new song, that not only fit in well with the set, but was pretty amazing in it's own right. A great sign that perhaps we'll see a new album in the coming year. I didn't hear them play anything from their lackluster final album Shapes, which I guess means that they recognize where their creative peak was between '93-'96. That the new song is reminiscent of this period speaks volume of this recognition. Speaking of '93-'96, I saw many of the same folks I used to see back then at shows out for this event. Perhaps a bit balder, thicker in the face and midsection, and lines under the eyes suggesting a few years of sleep deprivation from having kids... but I recognized them just the same. Of course, they were all at SP20 as well, but that crowd was too large to pinpoint the brethren so succinctly.

See you again at the Pavement reunion tour (fingers crossed) next year?