Polvo Reunite for New Album Thanks to Explosions in the Sky

Some band reunions might require a reconciliation, a new lead singer or a stint in rehab. But in the case of the influential Chapel Hill rockers Polvo, all someone had to do was ask. "Explosions in the Sky inquired as to whether we could get back together and play and we decided to do it," Polvo's vocalist/guitarist Ash Bowie tells Spinner. "That's what led to the whole thing. We probably wouldn't be playing now or having a record coming out if they hadn't asked."

The reunion show was the All Tomorrow's Parties festival curated by the Explosions in the Sky in 2008. That appearance snowballed into a few more Polvo gigs, including one at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain. The band started reworking old songs, writing new ones and eventually they were back in the studio. "It was kinda like picking up where we left off," Bowie says. "It all came pretty naturally when we started writing songs."

The band's guitar-based rock songs, which rely on alternate tunings and intricate melodies, have sometimes been lumped into the category of math rock, but the band generally defies easy categorization. "I don't think we're math rock," Bowie says. "But once a band gets pigeonholed like that it's hard to get away from. People just keep repeating it. We've been called all kinds of things, ya know... emo, and we're not that."

Call them what you will. The band's new album, 'In Prism,' is due out September 8th.