CD Reviews

Robert Pollard(1)

Robert Pollard Is Off to Business | Guided by Voices Inc.

By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | June 9, 2008

3.5 Stars

For the first release on his Guided by Voices Inc. label, the always prolific Robert Pollard turns out an uncharacteristically focused group of songs. Not only does he achieve the balance of indie and arena rock he’s been chasing for years, but he demonstrates something new in his approach: restraint. “Weatherman and Skin Goddess” is a blissed-out slice of summery power pop with a grinning melody, a bouncy beat, and turns of phrase that only Pollard could conjure (or understand). “The Blondes” has a lighter touch but is nonetheless a memorable ballad thanks to some winning vocals. Intricate acoustic guitar on “No One But I” helps build the intensity, which slowly makes itself apparent in a churning, moody wave: “I feel so older now,” he sings. It could be an anthem for the new era of Robert Pollard, stormy and tempestuous but optimistic and determined to create — not just for the sake of creating (as it may once have seemed), but with a purpose. Pollard has long been in the business of writing songs, but here he seems invigorated; and for the first time in a long while, his business is mixed with pleasure.

Robert Pollard
Normal Happiness | Merge
A real cut-up
An interview with Robert Pollard on the occasion of the landing of Boston Spaceships
Matter of characters
In the age of the sound bite, Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster are reviving the lost art of long-form radio comedy
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