Prolific Pollard puts out powerful pop

By Erin Mae Szrankowski
Collegian Editor
February 20, 2008

Robert Pollard is a real professional musician. Pushing out records on a yearly basis is pretty remarkable no matter what. It is an ultimate test of dedication, creativity and timelessness.

It’s hard to imagine someone being so prolific for so many years and not creatively washed up, but Pollard, on a continuous basis, releases greatest hits, a collection or a usual album. His track record goes back to 1983, with his first musical project, Guided By Voices. Don’t let his 50 years of life mislead you. Music is Pollard’s passion. He is constantly writing new material, not always hit-worthy, but always solid and memorable, which keeps fans coming back for more.

A guitar to Pollard is like a briefcase to a CEO. Pollard is able to outwrite some of the younger artists of today, maybe even people like Ryan Adams or Sufjan Stevens. His lastest album, Superman was a Rocker, is no different than his other material, but in a good way. A long-time listener would not be surprised by listening to this album.

Within Superman, Pollard explores different—but reasonable and concurrent—sounds; and while is an unusual approach, it almost returns to his original GBV sound. Some of the lyrics and sound recordings were found on old, personal cassette tapes. They range from throughout his lengthy music career. Some of the new music was even written over the old recordings.

Lo-fi fanatics will enjoy this new gem. Pollard is the master of the lo-fi sound—just look at his Guided By Voices career. Lo-fi is usually defined as grainy, delayed and distortional due to its lower recording quality. Other times it can be more polished and vintage-sounding, like ’50s pop standard recordings.

The set-up of Superman is like an AM radio show with actual radio clips and Pollard’s music. Snippets of radio clips generated over time by Pollard come and go. At one point, the members from GBV talk to this hick heckler guy, which leads into Pollard’s folksy instrumental piece, “Back to the Farm.”

“Substitute Heaven” is his more rockabilly tune, with country vocals and rock ‘n’ roll riffs. “Prince Alphabet” presents a sleepy, near dreamy Pollard, with a sample from the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” The sample he takes is from the orchestra when it crescendos into the Paul McCartney part of the song.

“You Drove the Snake Crazy” is a catchy, kind of tribal song, while “Surveillance” is a backward-looped tune with only Pollard’s voice. There is no other accompaniment.

Not everything is solid, though. “Fascination Attempted” fails. Pollard tries to catch the listeners’ attention by playing a clip of some annoying announcer’s voice. Granted, it is only a 24 second track, but it still matters because it should keep the flow of the album.

The single “Love Your Superman” is a catchy gem, and also a seminal part of the album, making the whole thing more accessible. “More Hot Dogs Please” reminds me of the ’60s revivalists like the Brian Jonestown Massacre. It is a sludgy and perfect closer to Superman was a Rocker.

This album proves Pollard as a prolific genius. He always leaves fans and even first time listeners wanting more. His talent should never go unnoticed, as he keeps it alive.

szrankowskie1@lasalle.edu