 Tracker
"Polk" CD
FILMguerrero
Genres: rock, indie rock, indie pop
FILMguerrero
PO Box 14414
Portland, OR
97293 USA
Feb 24 - Mar 2 2003 |
With
beautiful cover artwork composed of photographs of a long, barren road, presumably
somewhere in the American desert, Tracker's Polk makes
the perfect car-trip album. The songs sound as if they would go
perfectly accompanying a car driving on a deserted road - Tracker's
got the atmosphere right, the mood right, and even the melodies
right.
Like a day on the road, Polk flows perfectly - it has it's
up and downs, and constantly carries a subtle tone of impending doom
(just like in real life!). "The Swimmer," one of the
finer moments on Polk, is infectious and moody, with a slight
creepiness hidden behind the guitar twangs and the mysterious, dreamy
cymbal crashes that bring about the end of the tune. "Flint
(Watch The Crafts!)," which follows, is in stark contrast - it's
an honest, stripped-down track that poses Tracker mastermind John
Askew's perfect (in a delightfully imperfect way) vocals against a
simple acoustic guitar background.
Other excellent tracks include "Chemistry," a beautiful
tune that recalls a less epic Mercury Rev, "Distance is
the Sun," which boasts a bit of a Sparklehorse influence,
and "Somber Reptiles," a moody instrumental that sounds
something like a demented film noir soundtrack. The closer,
"French," takes things further with the discreet inclusion
of an accordion and a style not far off from that of Sparklehorse's
"It's a Wonderful Life". With excellent songwriting,
perfect execution, and just the right amount of twang in the guitars,
each of Polk's twelve songs works perfectly, with no low points
to be found.
To simplify, Tracker's Polk gets everything right in
all the right places. This is the type of album that stays in
your car's CD player for months on end.
90%
Fun Fact: Michael Schorr from Death
Cab For Cutie contributes his drumming skills to many of Polk's
twelve tracks. Schorr and Askew have been friends
for a long time, and they've also collaborated in the past for Tracker's
debut album, Ames.
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
12 songs, distributed by the
label, released 2002] |
