Boston Spaceships - Let It Beard (2011)

OK, let's get up to speed on Boston Spaceships, shall we?  Robert Pollard took his collaboration with Chris Slusarenko (The Takeovers) to a new level with the release of Brown Submarine in 2008, and re-affirmed my fanatical faith in Pollard's ability to meld the 4 P's (Prog, Psych, Pop, and Punk) into brilliantly crafted rock gems.  Why did this project, of all of Pollard's get my unwavering attention?  Why did this project have me demanding my long time GBV co-fans listen to all of the Spaceships' output immediately?  Pollard has a new band, man!  And I think this is key to understanding this project - it's a real collaboration between Slusarenko (bass, guitar) and John Moen (drums) that actually sounds like a band in a recording room.  And I think that's they key.  Chris Slusarenko has tapped into what made all those old Guided by Voices sound so good - analog warmth seemingly recorded in a basement.  Pollard's vocals are equally handled well.  Rather than him sounding like he's in an aluminum cage next to you, his recorded vocals sound like the basement days in Dayton.  Kudos to Slusarenko for capturing this gritty, analog feel to the Boston Spaceships' recorded output.  I haven't been this excited about a Pollard band/project since "Under Bushes, Under Stars".

Now, here we are, a few albums in, and we get "Let It Beard".  As the title suggests, Mr Pollard is in playful mode here, another element of his style that is at times lacking in his solo output.   As a play on the Beatles swan song, as well as the hirsute nature of his collaborators home environs (Portland, OR), "Let It Beard" is coy, playful, fun, and rocking.  Just as it should be.  The titles alone give you a sense of the impish ethos in these grooves, "Juggernaut vs. Monolith", "Chevy Marigold", "I Took on the London Guys", et al.  Very nice to have Pollard seemingly grinning his way through these titles, rather than the seriousness of say, "From A Compound Eye".  Certainly a welcome return to some of the whimsy of his best 90's work.

"Let It Beard"  is a double record, so obviously there is a lot to digest here.  After listening to it for a while, I will not attempt to establish I know this record like I know "Bee Thousand".  But I can say several things at once about the depth and quality of this work.  First, to hear Pollard songs with horns ("Christmas Girl", for one) is an absolute thrill, and again I must thank his collaborator, Chris Slusarenko, who took a bold move for a Pollard recording. It absolutely works.  This, and the female back up vocals on "Chevy Marigold" place Pollard's writing and singing in a context never heard before.  Indie rock?  This is just great rock, period.  Second, there are several songs that are quite traditional in their structure and length, which again demonstrates that Pollard can focus, edit, and craft a perfect 3 1/2 minute song ("The Vicelords") just as well as any other indie rock hero, be it Malkmus, Mascis, White, Casablancas, or whoever you might think is in Pollard's league.  J. Mascis even shows up for the album, lending some sweet guitar lines to "Tourist UFO".  Yeah, if you wanted to hear some jamming it's there.  Of course you get all the pop nuggets you can ask for, too.  Pollard effortlessly references (but never imitates or apes) British Invasion acts (The Who, The Kinks, The Beatles), garage rock Nuggets -inspired rockers, druggy, proggy weirdness, and 70's a.m. pop gold.  Distilling the best of modern music through the lenses of an old school artsy rocker, Pollard gives a history lesson on what is important in popular music: melody, lyrics, punchy drums, great hooks, and choruses that stick in your mind.

With "Let It Beard", Pollard has made his best recording in many, many years.  The earlier Boston Spaceships records, however fantastic and brilliant they were, were a warm up for this superb album.  I would even venture to say that this equals his classic 90's Guided by Voices records.  If this was a new band of unknown 20 somethings, this would make the top 5 list for 2011.  As it is, Mr. Pollard has been with us for many years, and with no Spaceships tour in sight, plenty of press for GBV's victory lap reunion tour, and perhaps even fan fatigue at his numerous releases, this may not be in music lover's consciousnesses this year.  But it deserves to be in every record geek's collection (especially a vinyl version).  If you measure a truly "classic" recording by its ability to stand the test of time, then "Let It Beard", in my estimation will truly be a classic rock recording.  There appears to be a lot of durability and depth to this new venture by Boston Spaceships, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to sift through its may layers and pleasures over the coming years.  Strongly recommended.

Here is a fan video for Christmas Girl that superbly captures the lo-fi analog feel for "Let It Beard".

Guided by Voices at Sasquatch Festival

Guided by Voices at Sasquatch Festival - High Kicks!

OK, so they're not in a smoky dark club and it's not 1:00 a.m., but how about those high kicks?

Robert Pollard - Lord of the Birdcage (2011)

Robert Pollard, still in the midst of a Guided By Voices reunion has graced the kids with another solo record, "Lord of the Birdcage".  Although Mr Pollard continues to release solo records at an incredible pace, "Lord of the Birdcage" very much has its own feel, as did "Moses On A Snail" and "Space City Kicks".  Starting off with "Smashed Little Finger" an autobiographical sketch of getting a, er, smashed middle finger, this Who-styled multi part mini epic is yet another stellar opening track in a long cannon of stellar opening tracks.  The rich production of Todd Tobias continues into this release, with each acoustic guitar, drum beat, and light keyboards being more developed and interesting to the listener's ears than in some of his earlier collaborations with Mr. Pollard.  This album at face value feels mellower, and slightly more proggish, making it feel similar to "Moses On A Snail" in its contours, and in its twisting melodies.  But dig that crazy post punk style of "You Sold Me Quickly" - fascinating, for sure.  I think this release will be one that will take time to grow in my ears,  as the melodies are rambling, and the even the shorter songs have multiple parts that focus the keen listener's interests.  Not as immediate at "New Theory of Everything", nor as wide ranging as "Space City Kicks", "Lord of the Birdcage" places itself more among Mr. Pollard's more proggish releases in this reviewer's opinion, and that makes 2011 a year of multiple, yet unique releases from this far ranging songwriter.

Robert Pollard - Space City Kicks (2011)

In the midst and hype of a full on Guided by Voices reunion (actually it's wound down, I believe), Pollard slips this one in during the first few weeks of 2011. With the majority of songs under 2 1/2 minutes, this is quite similar to his "Elephant Jokes" in terms of brief tunes. No mini prog epics or longer, slower songs that have cropped up on recent releases. The first track, "Mr Fantastic Must Die" sets the tone quite well...This album is going to have its share of psych weirdness, which Mr. Pollard has normally been reserving for his Circus Devils project. In fact, songs such as "Picture a Star", "Children Ships", "Gone Hoping", appear to be part of the larger Circus Devils catalog in tone and feel. Even among these strange and brief songs, Pollard has managed to infuse tunefulness into the odd structures and lyrics, so that is why the opener, "Mr Fantastic Must Die" works, actually. These psych nuggets are woven into the tapestry of Space City Kick's pop gems - "I Wanna Be Your Man on the Moon", "Blowing Like a Sunspot", "One More Touch", "Something Strawberry", "Stay Away", and "Touch Me in the Right Place At the Right Time" - these are classic Pollard pop songs, and bring us back to an era where his songs didn't linger for long before you were thrown into another minute of pop bliss, or something more darker and foreboding. "Space City Kicks" is a thick crunchy rocker with some sweet power chord heroisms at the tail end, so kudos to Pollard's collaborator, Todd Tobias for adding some truly interesting details to the album. At first listen, this album goes by quite quickly, and in a somewhat confused state. But Mr Pollard is known for being quite particular about sequencing. And if you sit with this record and listen from end to end, it reveals its own strange and sweet logic. This is not a place to begin with Robert Pollard solo career, but if you are an ardent follower of his songwriting, this will satisfy your desire for some new songs until his next release.

Robert Pollard - Moses on a Snail (2010)

Robert Pollard - We All Got Out Of The Army (2010)

Robert Pollard - Elephant Jokes (2009)

Robert Pollard - Is Off To Business (2008)

Robert Pollard - Superman Was A Rocker (2008)

Robert Pollard's 2005: A Review

In a very casual and low-key way, Robert Pollard began his post-GBV career with a trio of EP's that felt...well, anti-climactic after the final tour with his band. Perhaps fitting, given the amazing amount of energy and exhilaration of the Electrifying Conclusion tour. So we get The Moping Swans, which I highly recommend, and two other EPs with one good song apiece. Not a blowing out the gates kind of start for Mr. Pollard. It feels right, however, for these releases to surface after the final tour - a sweet appendix to 2004.
But 2006 would see him back to his already established work ethic of numerous releases, side projects, and a full tour under his own name. 2006 is also the year that he released his magnum opus, "From A Compound Eye", his first real record after the end of GBV. Stay tuned for more details.

The Moping Swans - Lightninghead to Coffee Pot (2005)

“Lightninghead to Coffeepot” continued Pollard’s somewhat low profile releases after Guided By Voices’ final tour.  This EP has the distinction of having former GBV members Greg Demos on bass and Jim MacPherson on drums, and Tony Conley on guitar.  Tony was formerly in Anacrusis, which was known as Pollard's pre-GBV metal band.  Again, as with the “Zoom” EP, this feels like a get together by old friends on an afternoon, jamming out some songs that Bob wrote that afternoon.  “Beaten by the Target” is slammin’ power-pop that shames the best Cheap Trick or Big Star ever offered.  “Shame Me No Further” gives you a good idea of Mr. Conley’s guitar talents, which some nice psych-induced lead lines, and some truly metal-styled chord changes.  “The Moping Swans Are Home” seemingly inhabits post-punk and prog rock stylings within it’s just under 4:00 minute mark.  “Look at Your Life” endlessly repeats it’s chorus until it will never be removed from your brain, but has a bitter sweet melody that carries its charms.  “Keep the Gutters Fresh” is one of those Pollard gems that you would hope to hear performed one day, but you know you never will – a deep cut that will never surface again, but is musically and melodically fantastic.  The title cut is a monstrous prog rock behemoth, unswerving in its determination to steamroll your consciousness.  Again, as with many of Pollard’s side projects and EP’s, his many styles are distilled into one smart, catchy, and utterly creative EP.  This is a hidden gem in his catalog.

Robert Pollard - Zoom (2005)

The first release by Robert Pollard after the dissolution of Guided by Voices was not some massive, sprawling epic.  It was this lovely little EP, released in 2005, shortly after Guided By Voices played their last shows.  Zoom (It Happens All Over the World) is a minor release by Mr Pollard, and it feels like an afternoon jam on the porch, with some old friends getting together to play songs that were just written that morning, after a long final tour, and everyone nursing their hangovers.  “Dr Fuji and Henry Charleston (Zoom Variation)” is a sweet instrumental with Doug Gillard.  Chris Slusarenko appears on “Have a Day Mr Clay”.  “Catherine from Mid-October” is another brilliantly melodic acoustic song, in a long line of songs that owe a homage to 60’s British Invasion, but are wholly original and never derivative of that genre.  “Zoom (It Happens All Over the World)” is a priceless gem, with Gillard appearing to play bass, and once again demonstrates that even on a small and modest release such as this EP, Pollard can deliver at least one joyous pop gem that sticks in your head for days.  

Robert Pollard - A Post-Guided By Voices Examination

In anticipation of the Guided By Voices reunion shows, I have been thinking a lot about the work of Robert Pollard. And when I say work, I mean a tremendous body of recorded music. Of course, Guided By Voices is known for such classic indie, lo-fi albums such as Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Propeller. If you are not in tune with these records, by all means seek them out immediately. Now...if you are an admirer of Pollard's songcraft, then you already have these, right? If indeed you have exhausted your playing time for these and other Guided By Voices classics, you might ask yourself - what else is out there?

Well, there is an intimidating amount of albums by Robert Pollard in the post-Guided By Voices canon (2004-2010). Where to start? If you are aware of Pollard's brilliance, you are also aware that many of his solo albums and side projects can be somewhat inconsistent. For every fantastic gem, there might be a couple that should have been left in the vaults to germinate or simply extinguish. I will attempt to give an honest and critical review of Bob's post-GBV work with as much candor and thought - through the prism of an uber-fan.

And this is where Natural Blues comes into play. I have listened to, absorbed, and attempted to grasp the nuances of most every Pollard album since the dissolution of Guided By Voices in 2004. I have found that it is easy to understand the career arc of GBV much more easily than that of Pollard, since he releases so many albums every year. It is difficult to get a grip on what he is doing in any linear fashion (itself a futile goal, I grant you). But given that he seems on an upswing with Boston Spaceships, some recent solo records, and the Guided By Voices Classic Line-Up tour this year, I think it's time to give some attention to what Pollard has done since the official break-up of GBV in 2004. Alright, are you with me? Great. This should be fun.  I am going to try to go in chronological order, with some posts commenting on live shows since 2004, and some general comments on Pollard's work along the way.

Right now, I've posted a few album covers and widgets from Grooveshark.  This new web service has allowed me to embed music quite easily, and allowed it to function as a streaming radio service.  You can't download the songs for free, and obviously, I encourage you to purchase the records based on their own merits.  The songs I've posted are my favorites from the records, and hopefully give an idea of the range of music on each album.  Of course, they are available for purchase individually from major online sources.
But you should just go and visit the Factory of Raw Essentials which is the main place to purchase Pollard related musical items.

And if you are still somewhat bewildered as to why I would devote time and energy to a recording artist you may not have heard about, here are a couple of links that should get you up to speed on Robert Pollard, Guided by Voices, and why it is all so good.

Guided by Voices Of Experience; It Took 2,000 Songs to Get These Aging Rockers Rolling