Polyfoto, Duck Shaped Pain & "Gum"

AMG Review of Polyfoto, Duck Shaped Pain & "Gum"

Richie Unterberger
All Music Guide

Recorded on a Walkman between 1990 and 1992, although you wouldn't really know from the quite listenable clarity of the results; fidelity-wise, it's no worse than other Knox/Tall Dwarfs product, and quite possibly better than some. More important is the content, a typically Knoxian journey through such varied topics as rape, Rodney King, distorted self-images, cosmetic surgery, and ruminations inspired by contemporary cultural theorists. The music is still pop/rock-experimentalism, sometimes approaching (as in "Trim Milk") his best melodies. It's not so outstanding, however, that the herky-jerky nature of the exploration can't start to get exhausting. With nearly 70 minutes, it may well have worked better in a somewhat edited fashion.