A month or so ago, I wrote a review on this website for Guided by Voices’ recent performance DVD. In that review, I wrote that the DVD “is a time capsule of the final show by a man – and a band – that elevated lo-fi indie rock into an art form. Whether that art is Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ or your grandmother’s velvet Elvis is a matter of personal preference. I’m just excited to see where Bob Pollard goes next.”
Where Bob Pollard went next, the new double-album From a Compound Eye, surprises, stuns, comforts, and does not disappoint. A nearly perfect mixture of the early lo-fi Guided by Voices releases and the later albums that emphasized crystal clear production, Compound Eye is one hell of a ride. Since Pollard was Guided by Voices, this album does not sound much different from a great GBV album. However, the tone and tenor of the album is much looser than his recent Guided by Voices releases. It seems, very frankly, as if he is less self conscious. He’s not making this record to gain an audience; like fellow brilliant songwriters Grant Lee Phillips, Michael Penn, Jon Brion, and the like, Robert Pollard just wants to make something that he and his fans will love.
Yes, all of those elements you love are still there: the fake British accent, the crunching guitars, the minute-long pop epics. (My favorite song on the album, “I’m a Strong Lion,” clocks in a 1:08.) This album is nothing new, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sure, he may be a bit older, a bit grayer, and a bit more world weary, but one thing seems certain: you can’t go wrong with Robert Pollard. This album is a solid effort from one of pop music’s most solid, strange craftsmen. |