Polvo

Photograph: Ashley Worley

Bowery Ballroom; Sat, Jun 21
Maxwell’s; Sun, Jun 22

As stalwarts of the regionally driven ’90s indie scene (Chapel Hill division), Polvo was recognizably of its time, especially on early releases: on-the-fly production values, buried vocals and the very occasional melodic hook (“Can I Ride”). But the group’s sharp-cornered arrangements and penchant for East Asian–influenced scales and tunings were always distinctive, and over a string of discs for Merge and Touch and Go, guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski developed into a double-ax frontline comparable to Ranaldo and Moore.

Polvo bowed out on a high note with 1997’s Shapes, brushing some grit from the gears without abandoning rock’s forward propulsion (unlike many contemporaries). Eleven years off (at least as a unit; Black Taj, a quartet featuring Brylawski and Polvo bassist Steve Popson, has a brand-new album called Beyonder) has softened the band only slightly, according to YouTube evidence of recent festival appearances. Newly drafted drummer Brian Quast displays a touch less abandon than founding pounder Eddie Watkins, but those guitars are still scabrous and lyrical by turns.