''Today's Active Lifestyles'' is

Polvo Polvo is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band formed in 1990 and is fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, with Steve Popson playing bass guitar and Brian Quast playing drums. Eddie Watkin ...

's second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

. It was produced by

Bob Weston Bob Weston (born 1965) is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason AnkenyAnkeny, Jason. " Bob Weston: Overview from Allmusic.com declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over th ...

and released on

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

in 1993.

Cover

Early versions of the cover art featured red tigers in the yellow colour field, but these were soon removed due to a lawsuit from its painter Andy Freeburn.

Release

The album was released on

. "Tilebreaker" was released as a 7" single with the song "Chameleon" and the instrumental "Tiara Fetish" on the B-side. ("Tiara Fetish" would later appear, with lyrics, as the song "Watch the Nail" on the Merge compilation ''5 Rows of Teeth''.)

Reception

The album went on to receive mostly positive reviews upon release. Tracy Fey of ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' called it "an excellent album with many layers." "Never a band to follow formulaic musical styles," she writes, "Polvo once again shakes things up with its twisted song structures of multiple tempos and intricate, distorted guitars." Gerry McGovern of ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

'' gave the album a very positive review, calling it "a massive album. In the sense that it is sprawling, falling, tipping all over the place." He writes that the album sounds the way "

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

might if Sonic Youth untuned their untuned guitars." ''

CD Review ''CD Review'' (formerly known as ''Digital Audio'' and ''Digital Audio and Compact Disc Review'') is a discontinued American monthly magazine that specialized in reviewing albums and audio electronics, especially compact discs. The magazine was fo ...

'' wrote that the album "has all the credentials for a bona fide indie rock classic." ''Spin'' wrote that the "refreshingly potent" album sounds more like a "top-notch

Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...

spinoff than a college-rock favorite." A mixed review from '' Select'' found the album to be derivative of acts like

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...

Swervedriver Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band formed in Oxford in 1989 around core members Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge. Between 1989 and 1998, the band released four studio albums and numerous EPs and singles despite a considerable f ...

, despite noting its "beguiling rhythmic charm". ''The Wire'' included the album on their year-end "Out Rock-Pop" list.

Legacy

'' Under the Radar'' called the album a "gift" that "explode your mind with inventive guitar work." ''Dusted Magazine'' called it "fresh and off-the-cuff". The album is now described by many as being a "landmark" and a "classic". According to ''

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'', the album along with its follow up "found the best balance between ..assaulting you with bending notes one moment, and soaring over you with crunching anthems the next." Peter Watts of ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' reviewed the album's 2020 reissue very positively, and hailed the closing track "Gemini Cusp" as a "

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

prog Prog may refer to: Music * Progressive music ** Progressive music (disambiguation) ** Progressive rock, a subgenre of rock music also known as “prog” *** Progressive rock (radio format) * Prog (magazine), a magazine dedicated to progressive ...

masterpiece." ''Treble'' included the album on their list, "Merge Records: 20 Essential Albums". Similarly, ''

'' included it on "Merge's Silver Age: 25 Essential Albums Over 25 Years".

Track listing

# "Thermal Treasure" – 4:32 # "Lazy Comet" – 3:49 # "My Kimono" – 2:21 # "Sure Shot" – 3:24 # "Stinger (Five Wigs)" – 7:23 # "Tilebreaker" – 4:09 # "Shiska" – 1:30 # "Time Isn't On My Side" – 3:06 # "Action Vs. Vibe" – 3:43 # "Gemini Cusp" – 7:05

Personnel

Ash Bowie Ashley Hideyo "Ash" Bowie (born c.1968) is an American musician. In 1990, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he formed the band Polvo (as guitarist and vocalist) along with Dave Brylawski, Steve Popson, and Eddie Watkins. Polvo was influential in t ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Dave Brylawski – guitar, backing vocals *Steve Popson –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Eddie Watkins –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

Polvo albums 1993 albums Merge Records albums {{1990s-indie-rock-album-stub