LAST COPY - ONLY ONE LEFT! First Come - First Gets It! First time on CD for this brilliant debut by the New York new wave band.
Produced by Phillip Glass, this eclectic 1980 effort garnered the band
excellent reviews and plenty of airplay on Alternative and College Radio as
well as fledgling video shows (pre-MTV). I forgot how good this album -- and
the followup "Changing Hearts" -- was! Their take on the new-wavey sounds
of the time was much, much more ambitious than almost all the bands
forgaging around in this territory in the early 80s. They were like a pure
pop version of Brian Eno`s best and poppiest solo material from the 70s, but
add some "Panorama"-era Cars, Roxy Music, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Lene
Lovich and the first three albums from Ultravox and you have a pretty good
idea. Despite the production being a bit thin and dated, it`s a package of
quirky new wavey fun that will surprise many, especially those who have not
heard this band before. Polyrock were, perhaps unknowingly, innovators of
art rock whose legacy remains largely unknown. " heir music owes as
much of a debt to Television and Brian Eno (specifically ³Third Uncle²), but
the Heads/Eno parallel seems to hold up the best. Yet by the time Polyrock
arrived at the party (1980), the best hats were already taken, and somehow
they got swept into the second wave of new wave artists like Suburban Lawns
and Flying Lizards. Polyrock deserved better, but timing is everything in
music. Led by brothers Billy and Tommy Robertson, this sextet made
intelligent, agitated music that threw giddy melodies into the boiling stew
of atonal angst and restless rhythms. Equally at home with instrumentals
that sound like Peter Gunn on speed (³Bucket Rider²) and songs that suggest
Ric Ocasek having a very bad day (³Romantic Me²), it¹s still not a very big
home. The eleven songs are driven by the same engine, loopy but never silly,
as if in an alternate universe somewhere The B-52¹s took themselves
seriously. With all the name dropping I¹m doing, you may be tempted to pick
this up, and I sure wouldn¹t stop you. Just a caveat: For me, Polyrock¹s
music has never come from musicians, and without a recognizable brand behind
the band, this becomes principled and intelligent but ultimately faceless
product. It¹s not their fault, but if the band ever did any marketing
(videos, radio singles, tours) it missed me, and I was paying attention to
this sort of thing in 1980. Maybe it won¹t trouble you this long after the
fact, but I¹ve always felt unsure about according them a high place in the
heavens, maybe because sometimes the brightest stars aren¹t the biggest,
just the closest. If Philip Glass¹ tight organ patterns push some of your
buttons, however, Polyrock might push all of them."-ConnollyCo.
 This Song - mp3
No Love Lost - mp3
Go West - mp3 | 
