Robert Pollard
Motel Of Fools
Fading Captain
The greatest hitter of all time, Ted Williams, still struck out more than he connected. And sometimes he settled for a single instead of a home run. Rock’s closest cousin, Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices, has unleashed some of the longest home runs in recent memory, but on his latest solo project, he maybe ekes out a double. Which of course is still a hit, but it doesn’t necessarily make you go “wow.”
Joined by his semi-regular cast of twisted popsters, Tobin Sprout, Greg Demos, Jim Macpherson and Don Trasher, among others, the seven cuts here are typical Pollard: bizarre lyrics, varying recording quality and direct homage’s to rock archetypes – and in one case, a straight cop. “The Spanish Hammer” ends with a distant guitar playing Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way,” for whatever reason. The songs sink into you after repeated listening, but not with same intensity that the best of his solo work, or that of Guided By Voices does. Which isn’t a bad thing, and this isn’t a bad record, not in the same way that the final GBV record on TVT (Isolation Drills) was, but still, it’s not top drawer Pollard. But when you take into account just how many times Bob gets up to bat, and his overall average, the man is Ted Williams with a guitar. And a cigarette. And a Budweiser. Batter up!
Guided By Voices: http://www.gbv.com
