In Prism | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 8, 2009 | |||
Genre | Indie rock, math rock, progressive rock | |||
Length | 49:22 | |||
Label | Merge Records | |||
Producer | Brian Paulson, Polvo | |||
Polvo chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 79/100[1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | B+[4] |
The Boston Globe | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Filter | 74%[1] |
Pitchfork Media | 8.1/10[5] |
PopMatters | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Tiny Mix Tapes | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Tom Hull | B+(![]() ![]() ![]() |
Under the Radar | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In Prism is Polvo's fifth studio album, and their first since 1997's Shapes. It was recorded by Brian Paulson and was released on Merge Records on September 8, 2009.[11] The track "Beggar's Bowl" was streamed online.[12]
In Prism received a Metacritic score of 79 based on 14 reviews, indicating a generally favorable critical reception. Jason Lymangrover of AllMusic writes: "Polvo's first studio album since 1997's Shapes, 2009's In Prism is a solid return to mathy form. Although 12 years is a long hiatus, it's hardly noticeable that time has passed, with the exception of a few machinery and personnel updates [...] Along with getting mathy and ultra-precise, the band takes the opposite approach and elongates passages, stretching songs into psychedelic space rock territory and surpassing the eight-minute mark on several occasions. As an album, In Prism may not quite live up to the explosiveness of Today's Active Lifestyles -- it's more like the calmer (and produced) Shapes. But even if it's not their best ever, it's a valid comeback that should appease longing fans." Despite a middling score, John Everheart of Under the Radar called it "a sprawling, psychedelic masterwork, rife with knotty tangles of discordance and serpentine riffs." Stuart Berman of Pitchfork wrote: "In Prism could be the first Polvo album where the melodies leave as lasting an impression as the noise around them, with Bowie tapping into a more guileless mode of expression that rarely revealed itself before."
Polvo are credited as the primary artists & producers. The remaining credits are adapted from AllMusic: