The first time that Disaster Amnesiac heard about Polvo was at some point in the latter 1990's. A guy who worked in a coffee shop near the flat that I lived in by the name of Kam. Really serious guy and from what I gathered a solid presence within some type of underground music scene in the Bay. It's not recalled at one hundred percent but I believe that he lent me some sort of recording from the band. Or perhaps a copy of one of their Merge Records albums made it into the rotation of SF Public Library? Whatever the means were, their music was heard by me and it was quickly clear that this band had a singular sound, were very unique, and were clearly an important voice within the underground Rock scene of the decade. At some point further down my subjective timeline an LP by Polvo was acquired. Still have that one. That said, and again despite the obviousness of this band being a great one, one worthy of obsessive listening and pondering, it took several more years for their impactful music to REALLY hit, which it did with Siberia, a 2013 album that I dug into about a decade later. If the back story of Siberia is understood correctly, Polvo had taken a long hiatus between its predecessor release and its production, and it was hailed as a fine return to form from a seminal band. From a purely subjective point of view, it's an album that I spun constantly during the Summer of 2023, to the point of the annoyance of Mrs. Amnesiac. It was played a LOT here, and for several weeks. Shuffling down to late Summer of 2026, Siberia has again been in near constant rotation within the auditory environment of Casa de Amnesiac. It's an album that, for this listener, inspires a kind of slavish devotion: it MUST be played again and again again, for its nuances are of such mediocrity slaying magnitude that to do otherwise would be unacceptable, at least for the next thirty eight minutes or so. As this post has been pondered there have been times within Disaster Amnesiac's internal dialogue that a certain amount of chastisement has been leveled. What right have I to even bother describing and enthusing about its greatness? Polvo were a band cut way above the average, and perhaps things should just be left like that and there. Surely, those who know know it very well. That being said it just can't be helped in the case of Siberia. I'd really like to describe and enthuse.
Total Immersion, Siberia's first song presents a sweet fuzz riff and handclaps while delivering a lyric about some hippie chick malaise. When the harmony singers join in during the chorus it's as good as a mid-1960's Paul Revere and the Raiders jam, but one also gets Space Rock Bass and an equally space-ey jam out to conclude.
A slamming drum part and twin guitar licks emerge from within Blues Is Loss. Those guitar tones wrap a garland around the listener's auditory mind during the nicely lengthy introductory instrumental section before the question is asked "how did my dreams get so clean?". I'm guessing it's the same reason why these Polvo guys produce such intelligent music. Some seriously bright gents within the band. A rollicking, sliding outro portion has these huge chords that one just can't help but be moved by.
More sweet fuzz tones on the guitars and deeply interesting lyrics are featured upon Light, Raking. The chorus of this song has driven Disaster Amnesiac to tears, multiple times. Synthesizer magic! College town Blues blends with higher order Punk Rock of the Tom Verlaine sort here. This would be a fun song to hear while driving at the faster speeds. Its pacing would have most wanting to press down on that gas pedal, especially as that stabbing synth riff really gets pushed to the fore.
Polvo double down on their singular twin guitar phrases on the initial stages of Changed before spinning out another one of their equally singular choruses. The drummer's arrangements during the song's parts are thoughtful and full of taste. Huge pockets and the coolest singer. The latter's style is crooned in an almost off hand manner which contrasts well with the lyrics and their conclusion that we all gotta change at some point.
It's rather daunting to pick a high point on an album that is essentially one giant, stand alone high point, but that being said The Waterwheel is just that. The lyrics paint completely psychedelic visions. Such vivid mental pictures conjured. No surprise that the song's chorus is a killer. A slinky, sly drum beat and clever percussion overdubs nudge things along into a jam part that throws off swirling whirlpools of guitar band bliss. Polvo were one of the best jam bands, that's for sure. If you can't swing with this song you're probably a zombie anyway. This human hears it as a meditation upon the obsessive nature of creative endeavors, especially those of a touring Rock band.
A perfect transition from the high level incendiary band action comes along on Old Maps. Mellower pacing and sweetly picked acoustic guitar, thumping bass and even a tambourine shake hit on the two's and four's. The singer pleads his case and hopes for a place. Juicy guitar interplay between the entire group ensues into a collective playin' situation before a tight ending. A rolling stone gather no moss, and if you're just passin' through, what can you do? It's hoped that whomever wrote the lyrics to the song found a cool spot in which to settle down and ground.
The drama picks upon with Some Songs. It has a more early 1990's UK groove in the rhythm section to start before a morph into something more Southwest United States stride. It's got all of the features of an effective Summer jam and yes Polvo offer up yet another bonkers chorus within its frame. Its ending features a beautiful fade/rising portion, perfect for a penultimate album track.
Last up on Siberia is Anchoress and it's a Summer rain song par excellence. It has a stomping Downer Rock and sullen vibes and these elements bring the album down to an earthy conclusion. It marches into the eye of a storm with so much sublime shades of light and shadow.
Who are these Polvo guys? What do they do now, after having ended their incredibly cool career with a masterpiece? Are they college professors? Architects? Whatever they're collectively up to now, with Siberia they produced a Southern-inflected, masterfully performed, engineered, and sequenced album. It's a perfect album full of songs and atmospheres that never cease to please. It lends itself to obsessive listening and rewards that listening as many times as one will play it. I wonder if Kam the barista still digs on Polvo. God knows Disaster Amnesiac does, and especially this album. Summer 2026 is likely not the last time that a deep dive on it occurs over here.
