Celebrate the New Dark Age | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | 1994 | |||
Genre | Indie rock, math rock | |||
Length | 25:42 | |||
Label | Merge | |||
Polvo chronology | ||||
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It was recorded at Duck Kee Studios by Jerry Kee and released on Merge Records in 1994.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | [2] |
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography | 5/10 [3] |
The AllMusic review is quite positive, with reviewer Tracy Frey calling it "filled with the band's chaotic, twisted guitars and sarcastic, witty lyrics." The tracks "Fractured (Like Chandeliers)" and "Tragic Carpet Ride" were singled out as "two amazing guitar songs" and "Every Holy Shroud" was compared to Pavement. Robert Christgau gave the EP a one-star "honorable mention" indicating "a worthy effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well like", picking "Fractured (Like Chandeliers)" and "Every Holy Shroud" as highlights and writing: "how dark can it be if it's so full of guitars?" [2] David Sprague's assessment of the release for Trouser Press is mixed to mildly positive, writing that "The energy level is a bit higher [...] but Bowie and Brylawski still noodle with virtually absolute tunnel vision. The fact that both concentrate on fractured chord disseminations ("progressions" is a bit too linear a description) rather than offer up any tangible leads can create a sort of eustachial whiplash [...]." He writes, however, that the "band is beginning to show flashes of proficiency at structuring songs" and that the EP is more stylistically consistent in comparison to their previous releases. [4] Jon Pareles wrote for The New York Times : "where Sonic Youth is thoughtful, Polvo lashes out, surly and cynical. "Every Holy Shroud" [...] mocks rock critics as it declares, "I know who it sounds like, I hope they care," amid guitar parts that turn tangles into snarls [...] Polvo's Sonic Youth roots are clear but unremarkable; Polvo takes the ideas in new directions." [5] Tom Ridge reviewed the EP very positively for The Wire, calling it "vital and engaging music, challenging and accessible once it has beckoned you in" and citing it as proof that guitar-led music was not dead. [6]
Ryan Adams listed the EP as one of ten records that changed his life, writing: "Their first record was good, but this was better, because it was so scrappy. People said Polvo sounded like Sonic Youth, but I always thought they had their own thing going on. This was like music from a cartoon." [7]
Sonic Youth was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold was a member from 2006 to 2011.
Daydream Nation is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on October 18, 1988. The band recorded the album between July and August 1988 at Greene St. Recording in New York City, and it was released by Enigma Records as a double album.
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star is the eighth studio album by American experimental rock band Sonic Youth, released on May 10, 1994, by DGC Records. It was produced by Butch Vig and recorded at Sear Sound studio in New York City, the same studio where the band's 1987 album Sister was recorded. Unlike its predecessor Dirty, Experimental Jet Set features a more low-key approach and references the band's earlier work on the independent record label SST Records. The album contains quieter and more relaxed songs that deal with personal and political topics.
Polvo is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band formed in 1990 and is fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, with Steve Popson playing bass guitar and Brian Quast playing drums. Eddie Watkins was the band's original drummer, but did not rejoin the band upon its reunion in 2008, after breaking up in 1998.
Dirty is the seventh full-length studio album and second double album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on July 21, 1992, by DGC Records. The band recorded and co-produced the album with Butch Vig in early 1992 at the Magic Shop recording studios. The sound on Dirty was inspired by the popularity of grunge music at the time, and has been described by Billboard magazine as experimental rock.
Sonic Youth is the debut EP by American rock band Sonic Youth. It was recorded between December 1981 and January 1982 and released in March 1982 by Glenn Branca's Neutral label. It is the only recording featuring the early Sonic Youth lineup with Richard Edson on drums. Sonic Youth differs stylistically from the band's later work in its greater incorporation of clean guitars, standard tuning, crisp production and a post-punk style.
Confusion Is Sex is the debut studio album by American noise rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in 1983 by Neutral Records. It has been referred to as an important example of the no wave genre. AllMusic called it "lo-fi to the point of tonal drabness, as the instruments seem to ring out in only one tone, that of screechy noise".
Kill Yr Idols is an EP by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in October 1983, originally only in Germany, by record label Zensor.
Cor-Crane Secret is the debut studio album by North Carolina indie rock band Polvo. It was recorded at Duck Kee Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina, and released on Merge Records in 1992.
Jahmekya is a studio album by the reggae group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, released in 1991.
Soda Pop * Rip Off is the debut album by American punk rock band Slant 6. It was released in 1994 by Dischord.
Bad Moon Rising is the second studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on March 29, 1985, by Blast First and Homestead Records. The album is loosely themed around the dark side of America, including references to obsession, insanity, Charles Manson, heavy metal, Satanism, and early European settlers' encounters with Native Americans.
"Mercy Street" is a song written by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his fifth studio album So (1986). A music video was created for "Mercy Street", which was directed by Matt Mahurin and shot in black-and-white.
Iguana Lovers is an Argentine rock band that formed in 1990 in west Buenos Aires, Argentina, by Ariel Soriano, Ivan Mirabal (guitars)and Javier Accossatto (bass). They are currently playing with Gabriel Diederle The band continues today as it has since 1990 and released four LP's and nine EP's.
Field Trip was a four-piece rock band from Pleasanton, California active in the 1980s and 1990s. The band's members included Jim Galbraith (guitar/songwriting) and his brother Tom (drums). Their songs were often played on college radio stations. Their third album, Ripe, was released in 1991 on Slash Records and featured keyboards by Faith No More's Roddy Bottum.
Young Death / Nightmarket is the eighth extended play released by William Emmanuel Bevan, an electronic musician known by his stage name Burial, and the 100th release in the catalog of the Hyperdub label. It departs from his previous two extended plays, Kindred (2012) and Rival Dealer (2013), in that it returns to Burial's signature sound consisting of vinyl crackle sounds, rain-filled atmospheres and vocal samples that was on records like Untrue (2007). It is also less dance-based than previous releases by the producer, with the percussion of "Young Death" being submerged by other sounds and "Nightmarket" being devoid of any drum beats.
Set is an album by the Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour, released in 1990. The album in part inspired the Senegalese youth movement Set-Setal, which sought to beautify Dakar.
Lived to Tell is an album by the American alternative rock band Eleventh Dream Day, released in 1991. Like the band's other two Atlantic Records albums, Lived to Tell was a commercial disappointment. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
The Curse of the Mekons is the ninth studio album by English rock band the Mekons, released in 1991. Due to a disagreement with A&M Records, the album was not released in the U.S. until a decade later, being available only as an import from their British label Blast First. It has been hailed by critics as one of the best of the Mekons' career.
The Mekons Honky Tonkin' is an album by the British band the Mekons, released in 1987. It was their first album to be released in the United States and the band's third country music-influenced album. The band supported the album with a North American tour.