Robert Pollard With Doug Gillard

The ever-prolific Robert Pollard, the man behind the indie rock institution Guided By Voices, seems to have constructed a working relationship with his record labels comparable only to Beck. How else do you explain the ability to follow up the much hyped and heavily produced (by GBV standards) TVT release Do The Collapse with a traditional home-fi album on his own Rockathon label only a few months later? As number four in his own Fading Captain Series, the bare bones song-centred approach is in the expected GBV mold, even though it’s released under a solo moniker along with current GBV band cornerstone, guitarist Doug Gillard. While Do The Collapse seemed to herald a new era of more traditional but no less hooky songwriting, it seems some of the best material was saved for his own label’s release. The brilliant cast of songs are highlighted by about four or five tracks that rank with the best Pollard has ever written and are sure to become favourites at GBV’s always euphoric live performances.