Customer Reviews

Exploded Drawing

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i've got this album and two other polvo albums: shapes and today's active lifestyles. shapes is experimental and sounds kind of eastern/psychedelic, and today's active lifestyles is just really good. however, i'd have to say exploded drawing is the best album i've heard from polvo. it starts off with fast canoe, which has a really catchy riff and chord progression. bridesmaid's blues reminds me of the kids in the hall theme by shadowy men on a shadowy planet, but this song rocks in it's own way. feather of forgiveness is a favorite of mine, the lyrics sound very personal and bizarre, and he just gets really weird at the end when he starts singing "i wanna cover you with flowers of forgiveness, i want to TOUCH you with the feather of forgiveness, i wanna wash you in a river of forgiveness, i want to wrap you in the fabric of forgiveness, i wanna put you in a LIGHT that will hurt your eyes..."
exploded drawing is not lacking in the exotic riff department, there's plenty of noise and harmonics and wammy bar discord to go around for any indie kid that's into sonic youth, dinosaur jr, or pavement. there are lots of catchy hooks mixed with experimental indie-punk weirdness, which indeed posses a "math" quality in its delivery.
if you like these guys, be sure to check out shudder to think, shellac, helium, unwound, slint, archers of loaf, modest mouse, chavez, and the other bands i mentioned.

if you want to know what someone means when they call a band experimental, throw this here CD into the player and hold on. the lead guitarists use of the slider and chords is so very interesting. it almost sounds as if he's polaying a rubber band the way the notes bend and sway. hypnotic and beautiful. the last song and the first song so beautifully start and end the album with the raw drums and down the hall vocals. i suggest you get it and expand your musical forte'. in the name of the one who made you tick. much peace...enjoy.

"Exploded Drawing" manages to feel like a double album while clocking in just under an hour. All the sculpted dissonance, eastern-tinged wierdness, lulling vocals and sharp left turns that both define Polvo and make them difficult to categorize -- other than as "vaguely Sonic Youth-ish" or "math rock" (a very misleading tag, as it alludes much more to their method than their results) -- are present here, along with an added dose of cathartic maelstrom and... pop structures!? Bluesy workouts?

Usually terms like "poppy" and "bluesy" are red flags that cause me to run screaming, but "Exploded Drawing" stays true to the image its title conjures: conventional structures blown wide open and recombined into intriguing new forms. A great, unforgotten band from the 90s with a bunch of superb EPs and full-lengths, this is a good place to start. The band even frustrates its own "conventions" with off-kilter clockwork rockers like "Snowstorm In Iowa."

I read the second review and had to comment. The first time I heard this album, I must admit I was not impressed. But now I listen to it almost every day. This album is simply incredible. Polvo works together in a way that I never imagined possible. These guys are one of the freshest, most original, most satisfying bands with which I am familiar.

Polvo's catalog is rich with challenging, tempting, engulfing melodies and rhythms. Exploded Drawing is their masterpiece, 18 songs that will transport you to another world. A true magnum opus from the most unique band of the 90's. This is a must-own.

Polvo: Lots of interesting guitar sounds, time changes, lyrics that make you think. I really enjoy this entire album, but it isn't an "easy" listen. If you do not like to be challenged by your music, do not listen to Polvo. If you're looking for a type of music you've never really heard before, music which will leave you feeling different than before you listened to it, than this is the album for you!

Not for everyone I guess. But, if you want to hear music taken to the boundaries, then listen to this. Not really a hard listen unless you have no patience or appreciation for art...

This cd never gets old to me. It took me many listens to appreciate this cd but once I understood it, I loved it. I have all of Polvos cds and this is my favorite.

Most will not understand this or any polvo CD. Like those eye puzzles at the mall, people try for hours to see the Purple Bear. Yet, I have had this CD for many years and cant understand why others think it sounds like noise, or that its missing somthing. However, these albums from Polvo will raise your standards of math rock type music to a peak. So I caution you to buy, because honestly I had to move to a diffrent genre of music.

A good album. Still, not quite as good as "Today's Active Lifestyles" or "Cor-crane Secret." Mindy is very much correct in declaring the superb sound of "fast canoe," an excellent track. This album is appropriate only when one is in the proper mood. What that mood is depends on the individual.