“The old GBV aggrandisements seem to have worn themselves down into a crackled reflection. Still the songs are boss; as always he has a way with uplifting chord changes and knows exactly when to use a riff to its maximum effect. ”
“The old GBV aggrandisements seem to have worn themselves down into a crackled reflection. Still the songs are boss; as always he has a way with uplifting chord changes and knows exactly when to use a riff to its maximum effect. “
Robert Pollard – Robert Pollard is Off to Business
http://www.robertpollard.net/ http://www.rockathonrecords.com/ http://www.konkurrent.nl/
Captain Bob! Not surprisingly we get intelligent, sinister, growly Who-style guitar pop dovetailed with some fabulous (and characteristically gnomic) lyrics. Check these from the jaunty Western Centipede. “On a carousel can you lose it?/On a racing track can you run it back?/To what would be your advantage now?/And if it speaks believe/Let man receive your energy/And drained by the wait of others.” Mad, eh?
It’s a subdued release in part; with tracks like The Blondes, or No One But I Pollard sounds almost tired. The old GBV aggrandisements seem to have worn themselves down into a crackled reflection. Still the songs are boss; as always he has a way with uplifting chord changes and knows exactly when to use a riff to its maximum effect. Listen to 1 Years Old for proof of that.
Highlights for this reviewer are the wistful Weatherman and Skin Goddess which has a feel of very late-era GBV, and is followed the splendidly named Confessions of a Teenage Jerk-off which is, given the title suitably gothic and maudlin, building up into a rousing finale. It’s a lovely record and Pollard is a true hero.
Words: Richard Foster