Polline - Parallel Canvas - CD (2000)

Labels: Boxcar
Review by: Andy Malcolm

An interesting little CD here, 6 tracks spread over around 33 minutes.

Things rumble out of the gate on the moody “œSilver Flake Spray Paint”. twin guitars play off each other, creating tension and pushing the music a long behind the vocals. The music seems to get more oppressive as it moves on, before breaking down into a far more mellow, relaxing mood to round the song out. Just what I needed. “œContinue a Hymn” starts of a little jazzy and then gets it’s flow going, I think they even use a flute at the start of this one. The track has the same feel as bands such as Paul Newman, before it brings in vocals a little later whilst the bassline continues to roll underneath it. The band also bring in some nice effects on the guitars to beef things up a bit.

And so it goes on, things become even more varied on “œIridescent” with great spoken vocals, and musically it reminds me more of certain UK bands like Hirameka Hi-Fi and Reynolds. Once again everything feels tense and edgey. You get more of the same on “œAlien in A Pod” where the talky parts recall Moss Icon when they pick up the urgency, and another Newman-esque instrumental masterpiece entitled “œPretty Fuzzy Tasty Hazy”. The final song title is just a bunch of characters, some of which I can’t reproduce on my keyboard. This track is also instrumental, but rages away in the middle for a while. Noisy!

Definitely worth checking out if you’re into arty indie rock / instrumental music.