Singles Going Single #194 - Polara - Monongahela 7" (1995, Generator)

I never really paid attention to Polara during the nineties, despite working at college radio and seeing so many of their CDs in used bins (I don't mean that as a dig).  In fact, it wasn't until a couple years ago that I put two and two together when I learned that Polara head honcho Ed Ackerson had previously fronted Minneapolis's 27 Various, a combo I've featured twice on these pages in about as many years. 

I've only experienced one Polara full length in it's entirety, and that would be their self titled debut which dropped the same year that this dandy 45 did.  My impression is that Polara was a far more idiosyncratic animal than the comparatively straightforward psyche-addled guitar rock of 27 Various, and I suppose that notion would be in keeping with this single, featuring three songs with each mining it's own disparate terrain.  Maybe I should break it down track by track.  Yeah. 

A1. "Scorched Youth Policy" -  An august, two-minute burst of dream-pop, cum Wire's '80s electro fixation (heck, Ackerson recalls Colin Newman big time on this one)!  Sounds like a little phaser was tossed into the blender as well, with the overall effect being none-too-dissimilar from what overseas contemporaries Rollerskate Skinny were churning out.  Beats anything on the Polara album.

A2. "Puffy (Buzzcrusher '95)" - Strummy, acoustic, and a little navel gazey as well.  Appealing, but hardly a game changer

B. "Attrition" - A bittersweet slice of indie guitar rock that agilely splits the difference between Pavement and Teenage Fanclub, buttressed by a devastating hook. 

Hear