Shapes

“Nothing less than kings of the underground… Shapes is perhaps the album that makes you understand the mechanics and feral engineering of the machine that is Polvo”. Louder Than War, 2020. Originally released in 1997. Recorded by Bob Weston (Shellac) deep in the bowels of the Carolinas at The Fidelitorium. Polvo was not only unique but prolific, putting out one or two releases a year during the band's initial lifespan. Not one of Polvo's records sound the same. Similar, perhaps, but Polvo is a continually evolving beast of many facets. On Shapes, Polvo stretch out in their guitar army postures and play some ROCK! It opens with the attempted start of an automobile engine, then knocks you with the song, "Enemy Insects." The band typically used non-western instrumentation, and with this album, they stretch even that.