Beggar's Bowl

After a 12-year hiatus from recording, the Chapel Hill, N.C., noise rock band Polvo is building upon the success of its 2008 reunion tour with a new album, "In Prism," due Sept. 8 on Merge Records. From the sound of the first single, "Beggar's Bowl," Ash Bowie and his bandmates seem like they've picked up right where they left off with their old label. The song merges the post-punk melodies of "Today's Active Lifestyles," Polvo's second studio album released in 1993, with the darker, Middle Eastern-tinged angularities of its two albums for Touch and Go Records. The result is a fine representation of Polvo's cumulative two decades together and a strong indicator of what to expect from its first album since 1997's "Shapes." "Beggar's Bowl" is available as a free download on the Merge Records Web site.