Polvere: Polvere
Minority Records

The material on Polvere's self-titled 10-inch exemplifies the kind of experimental open-endedness one associates with Matmos and a psychedelic folk-blues style one sometimes encounters on kranky releases by artists like Lichens and Bird Show. Italian avant-gardists Xabier Iriondo (A Short Apnea, Uncode Duello) and Mattia Coletti (Christa Pfangen, Sedia), who recorded the disc's six electroacoustic collages following a two-week Japan tour, often anchor their tracks with acoustic guitar motifs and then dirty them up with multiple layers of free-spirited mayhem. In the opener “Rumors Around Polvere,” ukulele plucks and strums collide with the sour squawk of an electric guitar army and drums, while 1920s Japanese records get taken for a sped-up spin on “78 [Traditional],” with female chipmunk vocalizing the result. “...And If You Slam the Door [To Fabio Magistrali]” pushes Polvere's sound furthest towards psychedelic folk-blues, especially when its hot-wired base of bells and squealing whistles escalates into a drum-battering wail at its close. It's a limited vinyl release (500 copies only) so move quickly if electroacoustic experimentalism's your thing.

September 2007