Formless/Functional

Formless/Functional
Studio album by Polara
Released	March 24, 1998
Studio	Flowers Studio
Genre	Alternative rock, indie rock
Label	Interscope Records
Producer	Ed Ackerson
Polara chronology
C'est la Vie (1997) Formless/Functional (1998) Jetpack Blues (2002)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Trouser Press	(positive) [2]
babysue	[3]

Formless/Functional is a 1998 album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara, their third full-length album and their last for Interscope Records.

Despite a generally warm reception by critics, the album received little support from its record label. Corporate mergers involving Interscope soon led the label to drop many bands, including Polara.[4]

Reception

Trouser Press writer Ira Robbins described the album as "frisky electro-dance" that moved Polara's sound "into the rhythmatic post-guitar realm of synthesizers, loops and samples," and noted that Jurgens' contributions to the band were especially prominent. Although he felt that "the album goes on a bit too long," Robbins called it "stylish and sophisticated" and said that songwriter and producer Ed Ackerson's "creativity is no less colorful or effective in this realm."[2] Jason Anderson of Allmusic wrote that Ackerson's "ability to completely ignore stylistic boundaries is admirable," but felt that the album did not have a cohesive theme and "sounds thrown together and random."[1] A reviewer for the online magazine babysue praised the album's mix of introspective pop and electronic production, calling it "completely cool" and "absolutely beautiful."[3]

Personnel

• Ed Ackerson: Vocals, guitar, bass, organ, piano, synthesizer, samples, sequences, programming
• Jennifer Jurgens: Vocals, guitar, organs, synthesizer
• Peter Anderson: Drums, percussion
• Engineered by Ed Ackerson (Flowers Studio) and Jason Orris (Terrarium Studio)
• Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
• Design by Ron Clark[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ed Ackerson

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Whassup?"	3:54
2.	"A Brighter Day"	3:55
3.	"Trainwreck"	4:25
4.	"Got The Switch!"	3:03
5.	"Halo"	2:54
6.	"Peaking Charlie"	2:21
7.	"I Can Believe"	1:44
8.	"Semi-Detached"	3:55
9.	"Verging"	1:45
10.	"Midtown Greenway"	3:10
11.	"Tread Lightly"	3:53
12.	"Corporate Hegemony (Smash The State!)"	3:37

References

1. Anderson, Jason. ""Polara: Formless/Functional Review"". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
2. Robbins, Ira. "27 Various, Polara, Sideways, Ed Ackerson". Trouser Press. Trouser Press LLC. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
3. "Reviews From the Original LMNOP: Polara, Formless/Functional". babysue. babysue. May 1998. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
4. Ankeny, Jason. "Polara: Biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
5. "Polara: Formless/Functional". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.