A Polynya is an oceanographic term that refers to an area of open water generally engulfed by sea ice. The band Polynya do not provoke such imagery.
Rather, Polynya come to us from fun, friendly, and gorgeous North Carolina, and their sophomore effort Crop Rotation sort of evokes more of that same feeling. Polynya is a group firmly planted in neo-gaze, or what I call “second wave dream pop” or “shadow dream pop.” They don’t exactly emmulate, say, Slowdive or The Catherine Wheel, which is probably for the best anyway. Rather, the group sounds closer to collectives like Dirty on Purpose, The Aislers Set, or The Eaves, who take the trademark characteristics of shoegaze and dream pop, and transform them into something decidedly their own sound, replete with a contemporary gloss. All the while, Polynya feels familiar and welcoming in the most rewarding of manners.
I really enjoyed this record, because sometimes I don’t really want to hear insanely experimental noise jumble screaming at me from my laptop’s tweeters (despite the fact that The Decibel Tolls sorta strives to write about challenging music). Sometimes it’s nice to listen to a perpetually enjoyable sunny afternoon body of songs. Polynya does that well, while still maintaining a variance of moods, layers, and most importantly, cool noises dripped in reverb. This is no rehash, friends. Polynya are quirky, fun, and interesting dream pop for 2009, with a warm southern flair to boot. Totally worth your time to czech out.
Dig the kraut-ish feeling on “Fan Fiction” meshed with Stereolab-sugarry vocals. Definitely dig on the distorted autoharp tones and old school 4AD good vibes on “Fields.”
Crop Rotation is available now courtesy of the band themselves. Grip it here.
For fans of: The Eaves, Velocity Girl, Aislers Set, Cocteau Twins
MP3 :::
Polynya – Fan Fiction
Polynya – Fields
