While it had been a few years since Polara’s last release, Ed Ackerson did put out a solo album last year, following it up this past May with the new Polara album Beekeeping. It continues the time-tested, 3hive-approved Polara formula of throbbing, wah-soaked mod psych fuzz-pop.
Original Post 4/9/2005:
Ed Ackerson, the main man in Polara, had an earlier mod/power-pop band called the 27 Various. I first bought an album of the 27 Various just because of one sentence on the back cover. They proclaimed their avoidance of a certain musical equipment manufacturer under the song listing by declaring “The 27 Various are proud to be {manufacturer’s name removed} free.” I didn’t like that company’s amps anyway, so I bought the CD. Ed moved on to bigger and better things with Polara, whose song “Counting Down” from their album Clean is still one of my favorites. Polara’s got a new EP out to whet our appetites for a full length LP in the fall; unfortunately no MP3s, so in keeping with Citizen Bird from the other day, here’s some earlier examples of Polara’s soulful fuzz-pop. And Ed, if you’re reading, I’m still {manufacturer’s name removed} free!
Addendum: New EP means new MP3! Polara’s now offering “Thirty Seconds” from their new EP. Enjoy!
So, I think it’s great and all that Jenny Lewis is now on Warner Bros. The thing is, the WB has this super-duper security thing going on with their advance copy CDs, and I can’t play the promo they sent me of Jenny’s new album, Acid Tongue. I tried it on my computer, I tried it in the car, and the players just kept spitting it out. Yes, it’s important to protect one’s recordings from piracy, but it seems you certainly can reach a point where there’s too much security and not enough liberty. In this case, I’d love to hear more of Lewis’ arresting voice, especially in collaboration with Elvis Costello, Benji Hughes and everybody else the publicists say is on the album. If the one free and legal download is suggestive of anything, it’s that I totally want to hear more. I trust that you all can fill me in on how the rest of Acid Tongue sounds.
How many of us were in a band in 10th grade? And for those who answered yes, how many are still in that band? Cacie Dalager and Brad Hale started playing together in 10th grade, and, having finished school, last year added two other members to round out their lineup and begin doing this band thing for real. Cacie’s innocently earnest voice steals the show, while the music swirls around her, managing to push her higher still. That’s the danger with their formula; can the music match the level of the singing? Now, Now Every Children make it sound simple, by keeping it…well…simple. Now after listening, for those who answered no, how many of us wish we had been in a band in 10th grade?
You reap what you share. Here’s proof. A reader tipped me off to this prolific Floridian after encountering 
Jessica and Kat, who unlike me are both young and hip, have been talking about Fleet Foxes since there was snow on the ground. I swear I checked the band out in February and there was nothing available to share, but who knows? Maybe that’s just an excuse for being so late on highlighting a CMJ #1 band, a Rolling Stone favorite, etc. etc. So, here goes: Seattle’s Fleet Foxes offer up fuzzy, old-fashioned-sounding pop songs, vaguely reminiscent of the era depicted in the album cover. (SubPop’s got deep pockets, so I bet Bruegel got a decent commission for this one). With just one EP and one LP under their belts, Fleet Foxes have plenty of time to carve out a little musical turf of their own, and a hipster following ready to hang on faithfully (for a year or two, at least).
Get ready to cut the rug, because this here is a bumping dose of pure dance energy from this indie supertrio. Dan Geller and Mark Mallman grew up together in Wisconsin playing chess and trading mixtapes. After graduation Geller, whose mixtapes often included The Smiths, The Cure and New Order, moved to Athens, GA, started up Kindercore Records, and began recording pop-tronic gems under the name I Am The World Trade Center. Mallman, who had contributed bands like Pink Floyd and Velvet Underground to their mixtapes, went the art school route and began recording over the top piano pop under his own name. The two reconnected and wanted to blend their styles of music. That’s when drummer Aaron Lemay stepped in. When he heard the demos he said, “I can’t let you two fools attempt this madness alone.” Then there were three fools making foolishly fun arena dance music. I can imagine a grafting of Daft Punk and Queen producing a sound a lot like this.
In this time of political posturing and ramblin’ rhetoric I’ve found someone with whom I can agree: Introducing The Upallnights, who have proposed the following plan for potential supporters: “Let’s go to the airport and catch a random flight…Let’s got to where the governments don’t lie and everything you eat tastes like blueberry pie.” If they’re including a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream in the deal, count me in! The Upallnights are nothing more than four unassuming lads from Stockholm armed with guitars, drums, blasting out jangly punk pop bullets that will keep your feet dancing. The cover of their new EP, Factory Sessions, should give you an idea of the band’s modus operandi. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of young boys with light sabers, let me tell you they mean business. Stay out of their way, cuz they, um, just wanna have fun.
At the risk of revealing myself as A) behind the times, and B) a complete tool, I’m going to share that I’ve recently gotten back into heavy exercise. At the gym, I usually listen to (here’s where the “complete tool†part comes in) This American Life or some other talky podcast where I don’t have to worry about (tool again) consistently high-energy beats. But praise be to Pittsburgh’s Greg Gillis, whose Night Ripper from 2006 is a (the behind the times part) mashup masterpiece that (tool) keeps my adrenaline PUMPED, man! For my money, Z-Trip is still the high-water mark of such guerrilla hip-hop-classic-rock-punk-pop-whatever mixing, but what Gillis does with the riffs from The Pixies, the Strokes and Weezer in “Hold Up†helps me burn 500 calories in two minutes. Girl Talk’s newest, Feed the Animals, is available 
Their name sounds as if something’s been lost in translation, but you won’t lose a thing if you invest a bit of time or money into Japan’s 4 Bonjour’s Parties. This seven piece Toyko ensemble shapes all manner of instruments into one gorgeous kaleidoscope of sound. Woodwinds and synths, glockenspiels and guitars blend into epic twists of modern-day chamber pop. The debut from 4 Bonjour’s Parties, Pigments Drift Down To The Brook, sounds like a long distance pen pal reply to the High Llamas or Stereolab; their sweet boy/girl vocals evoke a tone similar to contemporary Icelandic artists Múm and Sigur Ros. The band signed to Japan’s And Records right lickety-split after opening for 
I know I’ve been taking the “summer hours” concept a little too seriously, but it’s hard to do anything but enjoy summer when you have something stuck in your iPod like Top Ranking, Diplo’s “mixtape” treatment of Santogold’s debut album. Diplo’s dub-bass-electro-hop concoction provides a textured playground for Santi White’s angelic and sassy brand of new wave. Unreleased mixes of Santi tracks bounce in and out between cuts from Three 6 Mafia, Benga, B-52s, Ratatat, and Sir Mix-a-Lot—there’s a smile around every corner. (If this sounds familiar, Diplo did the same for the last big indie “it” girl, M.I.A., on the eve of her debut album with the 2004 mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism.)