Formless/Functional

Formless/Functional is a 1998 album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara, their third full-length album and their last for Interscope Records.

Formless/Functional
Studio album by
Polara
ReleasedMarch 24, 1998
StudioFlowers Studio
GenreAlternative rock, indie rock
LabelInterscope Records
ProducerEd Ackerson
Polara chronology
C'est la Vie
(1997)		 Formless/Functional
(1998)		 Jetpack Blues
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Trouser Press(positive) [2]
babysue[3]

Despite a generally warm reception by critics, the album received little support from its record label. Corporate mergers involving Interscope soon led the label to drop many bands, including Polara.[4]

Reception

Trouser Press writer Ira Robbins described the album as "frisky electro-dance" that moved Polara's sound "into the rhythmatic post-guitar realm of synthesizers, loops and samples," and noted that Jurgens' contributions to the band were especially prominent. Although he felt that "the album goes on a bit too long," Robbins called it "stylish and sophisticated" and said that songwriter and producer Ed Ackerson's "creativity is no less colorful or effective in this realm."[2] Jason Anderson of Allmusic wrote that Ackerson's "ability to completely ignore stylistic boundaries is admirable," but felt that the album did not have a cohesive theme and "sounds thrown together and random."[1] A reviewer for the online magazine babysue praised the album's mix of introspective pop and electronic production, calling it "completely cool" and "absolutely beautiful."[3]

Personnel
  • Ed Ackerson: Vocals, guitar, bass, organ, piano, synthesizer, samples, sequences, programming
  • Jennifer Jurgens: Vocals, guitar, organs, synthesizer
  • Peter Anderson: Drums, percussion
  • Engineered by Ed Ackerson (Flowers Studio) and Jason Orris (Terrarium Studio)
  • Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
  • Design by Ron Clark[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ed Ackerson.

No.TitleLength
1."Whassup?"3:54
2."A Brighter Day"3:55
3."Trainwreck"4:25
4."Got The Switch!"3:03
5."Halo"2:54
6."Peaking Charlie"2:21
7."I Can Believe"1:44
8."Semi-Detached"3:55
9."Verging"1:45
10."Midtown Greenway"3:10
11."Tread Lightly"3:53
12."Corporate Hegemony (Smash The State!)"3:37
gollark: HelloBoi, phones are not the same as keyboards.
gollark: > ibm model mthat is a keyboard. a bad one.
gollark: If it was killing you, you would be dead.
gollark: > this is killing me everytime I see it
gollark: You see, I'm trying to decide on a phone to buy to replace my nonfunctional phone, but there are many phones and I am not entirely certain of what I actually want.

References
  1. Anderson, Jason. ""Polara: Formless/Functional Review"". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  2. Robbins, Ira. "27 Various, Polara, Sideways, Ed Ackerson". Trouser Press. Trouser Press LLC. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  3. "Reviews From the Original LMNOP: Polara, Formless/Functional". babysue. babysue. May 1998. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  4. Ankeny, Jason. "Polara: Biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  5. "Polara: Formless/Functional". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
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