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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.[11] The track "Beggar's Bowl" was streamed online.[12]

In Prism
Studio album by Polvo
Released	September 8, 2009
Genre	Indie rock, math rock, progressive rock
Length	49:22
Label	Merge Records
Producer	Brian Paulson, Polvo
Polvo chronology
Shapes (1997) In Prism (2009) Siberia (2013)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B+[3]
The Boston Globe	[4]
Filter	74%[1]
Pitchfork Media	8.1/10[5]
PopMatters	[6]
Spin	[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[8]
Tom Hull	B+()[9]
Under the Radar	[10]

Reception

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."

Track listing

1. "Right the Relation" - 5:36
2. "D.C. Trails" - 6:57
3. "Beggar's Bowl" - 5:01
4. "City Birds" - 5:21
5. "Lucia" - 8:15
6. "Dream Residue/Work" - 5:48
7. "The Pedlar" - 3:37
8. "A Link in the Chain" - 8:47

Personnel

Polvo are credited as the primary artists & producers. The remaining credits are adapted from AllMusic:

• Chris Eubank - Cello
• River Guerguerian - Percussion
• Brian Paulson - Engineer, Mixing, Producer
• Alan Douches - Mastering
• Julian Dreyer - Assistant Engineer
• Michael Klayman - Photography
• Ashley Worley - Photography
• Gordon Zacharias - Photography

References

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