''Jetpack Blues'' is a 2002 album by

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

alternative rock band Polara, their fourth full-length record, and first after breaking with

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

and going independent. It was released on bandleader

Ed Ackerson Ed Ackerson (July 18, 1965 – October 4, 2019) was an American musician and producer from Minneapolis. He produced or engineered dozens of records including works by prominent artists such as The Jayhawks, The Replacements, Motion City Soundtra ...

's Susstones Records label, and produced by Ackerson at his recording studio,

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

, which he founded by reinvesting the money from the band's Interscope deal as well as an otherwise unsuccessful deal with

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

Palm Pictures Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD-Video format. Palm places an emphasis on such proje ...

. The lineup on ''Jetpack Blues'' included founding members Ackerson and guitarist Jennifer Jurgens, as well as bassist Dan Boen. Rather than a single drummer, the album featured three percussionists and a drum machine.

Gary Louris Gary Louris (born March 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist after the ...

of The Jayhawks plays lead guitar on "Obsolete," and Blake Babies and

Antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

frontman John Strohm arranged the horn section on the song "Is This It?"

Reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' writer Ira Robbins named ''Jetpack Blues'' the best of Polara's career, calling it "a modern Anglo-American power-pop noisefest that pushes hard and really gets somewhere. ... The album surges with energy, enthusiasm and a personable tone that cuts through the daunting curtain of sound." Chris Riemenschneider of the Minneapolis-St. Paul

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

compared ''Jetpack Blues'' to My Bloody Valentine, calling it "a genuine blast, full of richly noisy, orchestrated guitar parts and layered Brit-pop melodies." Greg Winter of ''

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' called ''Jetpack Blues'' "exquisite," with "short but sweet guitar solos and beautiful vocal harmonies." Eric Carr of '' Pitchfork'' was enthusiastic about the title track, calling it "sterling space-gospel," but less so about the rest of the album, which he called "solid, uptempo kernels of sci-fi sounds (that) begin to blend together into what might as well be a single (albeit damn fine) forty-minute epic." Robert L. Doerschuk of ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' wrote that "each track feels sleek and streamlined, with massive textural depth," but felt that the music was "formulaic and, worse, dispirited." A reviewer for the online magazine ''babysue'' praised the album as "exceptional" and "full of slick melodic pop music with superb vocals and wild guitar work."

Personnel

: Vocals, guitar, bass, organ, piano, synthesizer, loops, percussion * Jennifer Jurgens: Vocals, guitar, piano, organ, synthesizer * Dan Boen: Bass, synthesizer * Erik Mathison: Drums on "Is This It?," "Obsolete," "Other," "The Story So Far" * Peter Anderson: Drums on "Jetpack Blues," "Is This It?," "Sweep Me Away," "Wig On" * Marc Iwanin: Drums on "Other" *

: Lead guitar on "Obsolete" * Janey Winterbauer: Backing vocals on "Wig On" * John Strohm: Horn arrangement on "Is This It?" * Producer: Ed Ackerson * Mastered by Jeff Lipton * Ed Ackerson, Jennifer Jurgens: Design * Nick Tangborn, Tricia Boland: Design concept Recorded at

Flowers Studio Flowers Studio is a recording studio in Minneapolis founded by Ed Ackerson, leader of the alternative rock bands Polara and the 27 Various, and co-founder of the Susstones Records label. Many notable musicians have recorded at the studio, includ ...

, Minneapolis

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2002 albums Polara (band) albums