Robert Pollard
From A Compound Eye
To all music nerds who didn't get started with Guided by Voices during the Propeller era, and therefore haven't gotten on board due to the desire to remain chronological, here's your access point. While it's a solo album in name only--Guided By Voices fans always knew what the deal was from the start--Pollard is really only accompanied by a band of one here, with multi-instrumentalist Todd Tobias finishing out unreleased and new tracks courtesy of Mr. Pollard. While this may not be better than Bee Thousand, it's the best rock-pop album by a male solo artist this year, and it's one of the strongest arguments for Pollard as deserving of the rock-god status afforded him by his legion of rabid fans. There's 26 tracks here, and while some, like "I'm A Widow" and "Love Is Stronger Than Witchcraft," are stand-outs, none are weak sisters--a claim that not every Guided By Voices release could honestly make. Pollard makes old school pop rock, and he makes it sound smarter and more fun than it has so far this decade. While Pollard will never be that cool of a guy (as the hideous album art attests,) he'll always be fun to jock around with, especially if you're finishing off a sausage party at the lamest pub in Chicago. That, after all, is what this sort of music is for.
-Tucker Stone, 2006
While Pollard's 2nd 2006 release, Normal Happiness, isn't anywhere near as strong as Compound Eye, it's still pretty damn good stuff.
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