In Prism
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| In Prism | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 8, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, math rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 49:22 | |||
| Label | Merge | |||
| Producer | Brian Paulson, Polvo | |||
| Polvo chronology | ||||
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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.[1] The track "Beggar's Bowl" was streamed online.[2]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[5] |
| The Boston Globe | [6] |
| Filter | 74%[3] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10[7] |
| PopMatters | [8] |
| Spin | [9] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | [10] |
| Under the Radar | [11] |
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."
