Siberia (Polvo album)

Siberia
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2013
GenreIndie rock, progressive rock
Length45:05
LabelMerge Records
Polvo chronology
In Prism
(2009)
Siberia
(2013)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blurt[11]
Exclaim!6/10[5]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10[7]
Mondo Sonoro8/10[6]
Ox-Fanzine[10]
Pitchfork Media8.3/10[3]
Popmatters[4]
Rolling Stone[8]
Under the Radar[9]

Siberia is Polvo's sixth studio album. It was released on Merge Records on September 30, 2013.[12] Unlike its predecessor, 2009's In Prism, the album was not accompanied with a tour.

An official music video was created for the track "Light, Raking."[13]

Reception

Siberia, like its predecessor, received universal critical acclaim, with a Metacritic score of 81/100 based on 12 reviews. In a highly positive review, Stuart Berman of Pitchfork noted that the band's "subtle classic-rock quotes—like the “Tom Sawyer”-worthy arpeggio that underpins the tranquil “Changed”—serve to make Polvo’s complex guitarchitecture more inviting to the uninitiated" & praised "Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski’s more emotionally revelatory approach to their vocals." Fred Thomas of AllMusic called the album "a step up from Polvo's original return to the scene. Though the songs here would have fit in with the best of their earlier phases, they manage to inject deeper subtleties and emotional crosscurrents than even their best work from the '90s without getting too soft in the process."

Sean Kirkpatrick of the Paper Chase-fame ranked Siberia his 2nd favorite album of the year.[14] Radical Dads included it among their favorite albums of 2013.[15] Pharaoh Overlord picked the track "Total Immersion" as one of their favorites, calling it "[p]erfectly twisted progressive pop music. All these years I’ve admired Polvo’s exceptional arrangements. I just wonder how some musicians can be so advanced. Music like this cannot be made alone, this needs a collective mind."[16]

Accolades

Year-end accolades
Publication Country Accolade Rank
Magnet US Top 25 Albums Of 2013 15[17]
Aquarium Drunkard US 2013 Year In Review -[18]
Blurt US The Blurt Top 75 Albums 69[19]
Las Vegas Weekly US Best of 2013: Albums (Spencer Patterson) 8[20]
Earbuddy US Earbuddy’s Best Albums of 2013 69[21]
Rolling Stone US 27 Best Albums You Didn’t Hear in 2013 -[22]

Track listing

  1. "Total Immersion" - 6:26
  2. "Blues is Loss" - 6:52
  3. "Light, Raking" - 4:31
  4. "Changed" - 3:24
  5. "The Water Wheel" - 7:57
  6. "Old Maps" - 4:11
  7. "Some Songs" - 5:32
  8. "Anchoress" - 6:12

Credits

Polvo are credited as the primary artist. The remainder of the credits have been adapted from AllMusic:

Personnel Credit
Mitch Easter Guitar, Mixing
Jeff Lipton Mastering
Brian Paulson Mixing
Maria Rice Mastering Assistant

References

  1. ^ "Siberia by Polvo" – via www.metacritic.com.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ "Polvo: Siberia". Pitchfork.
  4. ^ "Polvo: Siberia". PopMatters. October 9, 2013.
  5. ^ "Polvo Siberia". exclaim.ca.
  6. ^ "Noticias música indie". April 6, 2014.
  7. ^ "Polvo – Siberia". The Line of Best Fit.
  8. ^ Dolan, Jon (October 7, 2013). "Siberia". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ Under the Radar September 2013 issue, page 93
  10. ^ Deutschland, Ox Fanzine, Solingen. "Review". www.ox-fanzine.de.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Mills, Fred (16 October 2013). "POLVO - Siberia". Blurt Magazine.
  12. ^ "Polvo - Siberia". www.mergerecords.com.
  13. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Polvo - Light, Raking (Official Music Video). YouTube.
  14. ^ "Dallas Artists and Critics Choose Their Favorite Music From 2013". D Magazine. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  15. ^ "The Artists Pick the Best of 2013, Part 3". PopMatters. 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  16. ^ Orlandino, Nicola. "My AweSOMe Guest List: Pharaoh Overlord". SonOfMarketing. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  17. ^ "MAGNET's Top 25 Albums Of 2013". Magnet Magazine. 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  18. ^ "Aquarium Drunkard : 2013 Year In Review". Aquarium Drunkard. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  19. ^ Mills, Fred (January 2014). "2013 IN REVIEW: The Blurt Top 75 Albums". Blurt Magazine. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  20. ^ "Best of 2013: Albums - Las Vegas Weekly". lasvegasweekly.com. 25 December 2013. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  21. ^ Earbuddy (2013-12-18). "Earbuddy's Best Albums of 2013: 70 - 56". Earbuddy. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  22. ^ "27 Best Albums You Didn't Hear in 2013". Rolling Stone. 2013-12-23. Retrieved 2021-02-16.