Polvo Reunite with Merge for First Studio Album in 12 Years
6/4/2009 By Rob Nay

Guitar acrobats Polvo are set to launch their first trampoline-ready record in a dozen years.

This week, Merge Records announced it will release the recently reunited group’s In Prism on September 8, marking the band’s first studio album since 1997’s Shapes.

Known for their unconventional guitar tunings and ability to blend art rock ingenuity with indie rock melodies, Polvo disbanded soon after Shapes was released.

The group’s musicians first came together in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC. During their heyday, Polvo released two EPs and two full-length records on Merge before departing for Touch and Go for their final two albums.

Following the group’s demise, members moved on to other projects. Vocalist/guitarist Ash Bowie, who did a stint in Helium, released an album under the Libraness moniker, while co-vocalist/guitarist Dave Brylawski went on to play with Idyll Swords and the Black Taj.

In 2008, Bowie, Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson and new drummer Brian Quast, formerly of the Cherry Valence, hit stages after being invited to play the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival by Explosions in the Sky. Following their reunion in 2008, the group have played a handful of shows.

Along with returning to Merge for In Prism, the record also sees Polvo returning to producer Brian Paulson, who helmed the group’s 1995 EP, This Eclipse.

Tour dates by the band for the fall are expected to be announced soon but in the meantime, Polvo have a handful of shows confirmed for the summer, including a gig with the Obits at New York’s Seaport Music Festival on July 31 and a concert at Merge Record’s 20th anniversary.

In Prism:

1. “Right the Relation”
2. “D.C. Trails”
3. “Beggar’s Bowl”
4. “City Birds”
5. “Lucia”
6. “Dream residue/Work”
7. “The Pedlar”
8. “A Thousand Waves”

Tour dates:

6/26 Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre
6/27 Wilmington, NC - Soapbox Laundro-Lounge
7/22-26 Carrboro, NC - XX Merge
7/30 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
7/31 New York, NY - Seaport Music Festival *
8/1 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar

* with Obits

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