Polara (band)

Polara is an American alternative rock band formed in 1994 by Ed Ackerson, a musician and producer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Billboard writer Deborah Russell called Ackerson and Polara the front of "the emergence of a new local (Twin Cities) scene" more interested in pop music and postpunk than the punk rock of bands like Hüsker Dü and The Replacements.

Despite an increasingly visible profile and critical praise over the course of its career, the band's prospects suffered when Twin/Tone's distributor, Rough Trade, went out of business.

After a short stint as second guitarist in Blake Babies singer John Strohm's band Antenna,[7] Ackerson formed Polara in 1994 with guitarist Jennifer Jurgens, bassist Jason Orris, and Trip Shakespeare's Matt Wilson on drums, continuing his interest in 1960s psychedelic pop but adding a heavy element of Krautrock-inspired electronics and keyboards.

The group released a self-titled debut in 1995, which Allmusic writer Rick Anderson called "weird but lovable" and "as fresh and bracing as a bucket of ice water in the face.

Ackerson took a holistic approach to making music, viewing composition, performance, recording and post-production all as steps in a single process of creating a song.

[13] Despite a generally warm reception by critics (Trouser Press Ira Robbins called it "stylish and sophisticated"[6]), the album received little support from its record label.

[8] Greg Winter of CMJ called Jetpack Blues "exquisite," with "short but sweet guitar solos and beautiful vocal harmonies.