If you think Milwaukee’s premier exponents of psychedelia, Plasticland, were anachronistic, you might be interested in hearing Archives 74-75 by that band’s forebear, Arousing Polaris. Glenn Rehse, John Frankovic, Mark Krueger and Victor Demechei joined musical forces in the mid-1970s and began practicing in the basement of the Frankovic family home. The band’s keyboard-driven sound recalled the virtuosity and energy of European art-rock and space-rock bands that was found in the recesses of the import section at hip record stores.
In the unpublished liner notes (the album was originally slated to be released by a European label,) David Luhrssen depicts the local music scene: “Most local rock bands were four-man machine shops that replicated songs heard on the radio.” During that bygone era, when the budget for a studio recording was out of reach for most bands, an esoteric concern like Arousing Polaris simply took matters into their own hands. What we have here is nine songs preserved on reel-to-reel and cassette tapes, wonderfully polished up with modern technology. The youthful exuberance is tempered only by the musical ideas our heroes reach for. With this CD, the Rockhaus label continues to curate local music history.
Naysayers will argue that prog-rock is neither, but the sound of Arousing Polaris has teeth. In due time, songs from the group’s repertoire would find a way into Plasticland’s feral set a few years later. Krueger would hang up his guitar and since 1977 has hosted his Planet Prog radio program, currently on WMSE 91.7. Rehse, Frankovic and Demechei continued as Plasticland on their own timetable.
