| Today's Active Lifestyles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 19, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | December 18–21, 1992 | |||
| Genre | Post-hardcore, noise rock, math rock | |||
| Length | 41:08 | |||
| Label | Merge Records | |||
| Polvo chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Great Alternative & Indie Discography | 5/10 [2] |
| Select |   [3] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [4] |
Today's Active Lifestyles is Polvo's second studio album. It was produced by Bob Weston and released on Merge Records in 1993.
Early versions of the cover art featured red tigers in the yellow colour field, but these were soon removed due to a lawsuit from its painter Andy Freeburn.
The album was released on Merge Records. "Tilebreaker" was released as a 7" single with the song "Chameleon" and the instrumental "Tiara Fetish" on the B-side. ("Tiara Fetish" would later appear, with lyrics, as the song "Watch the Nail" on the Merge compilation 5 Rows of Teeth.)
The album went on to receive mostly positive reviews upon release. Tracy Fey of Allmusic called it "an excellent album with many layers." "Never a band to follow formulaic musical styles," she writes, "Polvo once again shakes things up with its twisted song structures of multiple tempos and intricate, distorted guitars." [1] Gerry McGovern of Hot Press gave the album a very positive review, calling it "a massive album. In the sense that it is sprawling, falling, tipping all over the place." He writes that the album sounds the way "Sonic Youth might if Sonic Youth untuned their untuned guitars." [5] CD Review wrote that the album "has all the credentials for a bona fide indie rock classic." [6] Spin wrote that the "refreshingly potent" album sounds more like a "top-notch Glenn Branca spinoff than a college-rock favorite." [7] A mixed review from Select found the album to be derivative of acts like Dinosaur Jr. & Swervedriver, despite noting its "beguiling rhythmic charm". [3]
The Wire included the album on their year-end "Out Rock-Pop" list. [8]
Under the Radar called the album a "gift" that "explode[s] your mind with inventive guitar work." [9] Dusted Magazine called it "fresh and off-the-cuff". [10] The album is now described by many as being a "landmark" [11] and a "classic". [12] According to Popmatters , the album along with its follow up "found the best balance between [...] assaulting you with bending notes one moment, and soaring over you with crunching anthems the next." [13] Peter Watts of Uncut reviewed the album's 2020 reissue very positively, and hailed the closing track "Gemini Cusp" as a "lo-fi prog masterpiece." [4]
Treble included the album on their list, "Merge Records: 20 Essential Albums". [14] Similarly, Popmatters included it on "Merge's Silver Age: 25 Essential Albums Over 25 Years". [15]
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.
Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, the band was forced to change their name due to legal issues.
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.
Sonic Nurse is the thirteenth studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on June 8, 2004, by Geffen Records.
Sister is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in June 1987 by SST Records. The album furthered the band's move away from the no wave genre towards more traditional song structures, while maintaining an aggressively experimental approach.
Marissa Nadler is an American musician and fine artist. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, The Path of the Clouds, in October 2021. As a singer-songwriter, her music has been characterized as blending "traditional folk, Gothic Americana, and dreamy pop into an original musical framework". Her music "is rooted in old-school country and folk but brings in elements of experimental and black metal". Sometimes the term "dream folk" has been invoked to describe her work.
EVOL is the third full-length studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Released in May 1986, EVOL was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also the first album to feature then-new drummer Steve Shelley who had just replaced Bob Bert.
Exploded Drawing is the third studio album by the rock band Polvo. It was released in 1996 as a CD and double-LP on Touch and Go Records. The album was engineered by Bob Weston.
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.
Shapes is Polvo's fourth studio album and the last album released prior to breaking up shortly after its release. It was recorded by Bob Weston and released on Touch and Go Records in 1997.
Celebrate the New Dark Age is an EP by Polvo.
Ashley Hideyo "Ash" Bowie is an American musician.
In Prism is Polvo's fifth studio album, and their first since 1997's Shapes. It was recorded by Brian Paulson and was released on Merge Records on September 8, 2009. The track "Beggar's Bowl" was streamed online.
The Story is an English psychedelic folk duo comprising the former Forest member Martin Welham and his son Tom Welham. They write and record melodic songs that range from psychedelic pop to stream-of-consciousness folk and play an array of predominantly acoustic instruments as a backdrop to their blend of vocal harmonies.
Essential Oils is a two-disc compilation album by Australian rock band Midnight Oil released in November 2012.
Vanishing Point is the ninth studio album by American rock band Mudhoney. It was released on April 2, 2013 as their sixth studio album release on Sub Pop.
Last Night on Earth is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock musician Lee Ranaldo, released on October 7, 2013 on Matador Records. Recorded over a nine-month period at Echo Canyon West in Hoboken, New Jersey, the album features Ranaldo's backing band The Dust which comprises former Sonic Youth bandmate Steve Shelley, guitarist Alan Licht and bassist Tim Lüntzel. In addition to studio recordings, Last Night on Earth incorporates field recordings of Ranaldo in Berlin, Germany and Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy.
Reptilians is the third studio album by the American electronic indie rock band Strfkr. Departing from the light feel of their previous work, Jupiter (2009), the twelve-track Reptilians includes lyrics by Joshua Hodges about death and the end of the world, while musically not sounding depressing. One of the ways these theories are supported is using samples of British-American philosopher Alan Watts in some of the tracks. Finished in November 2010 and released on March 8, 2011 by Polyvinyl Records, two singles were issued from Reptilians, which was "Julius" in late 2010 and "Bury Us Alive" in January 2011. Upon its release, the album earned mostly positive reviews from music critics, with praise going towards the band's development from their previous records and re-listening value. On the American Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, it entered at number 26.
Siberia is Polvo's sixth studio album. It was released on Merge Records on September 30, 2013. Unlike its predecessor, 2009's In Prism, the album was not accompanied with a tour.
Final Wild Songs is a four-CD compilation box set by American band the Long Ryders, released in 2016 by Cherry Red Records. It collects the debut EP 10-5-60, the three studio albums Native Sons, State of Our Union and Two-Fisted Tales, as well as a number of rare and unreleased tracks, including a full 1985 live set recorded for radio broadcast in the Netherlands.
