Robert Pollard-The Crawling Distance

Let me make this known: I owe a whole lot to Bob Pollard. Pollard was the long-time leader of Dayton, Ohio lo-fi kings Guided by Voices, the band that got me seriously into music and beyond the limits of the Top 40. And ever since 7th grade when I heard “I Am a Scientist” on a boom box in my teacher’s classroom, I’ve turned time and time again back to the music Pollard has created in his 25+ year career.

With more than a thousand songs registered with BMI, Pollard is up there with R. Stevie Moore as one of the most prolific indie songwriters of the last 50 years. He’s known for banging out great pop ditties at an incredible clip that have all the teenage longing of early Beatles, all the jangle of The Byrds, and all the concision and less-is-more attitude of Wire. In addition to his long run with GBV, which saw the release of Bee Thousand, a cornerstone of 90s indie rock every bit as important to the genre as Slanted & Enchanted, Pollard has released albums under his own name since 1996, and exclusively since GBV’s breakup in 2004. In his first release of 2009, The Crawling Distance, Bob brings ten more tracks of his trademark sound.

On the album’s opener, “Faking My Harlequin,” Pollard sneeringly poses a challenge to a lover as the music chugs and throbs along: “Try not speaking to me, my love.” The hooks come fast and furious on this release, and the surreal lyrics that never seem random or forced but never quite make total sense fit nicely. Pollard has a soft side, too, and “It’s Easy,” a haunting dreamy pop song that brings up comparisons to “I’m Only Sleeping,” confirms that this 51-year old former school teacher is still brimming with creativity. “Imaginary Queen Anne” may be the best cut on the entire album, the best jangle-pop Big Star never wrote.

For those unacquainted with Pollard and Guided by Voices, The Crawling Distance isn’t likely to win over any new converts. But for fans of Uncle Bob, it’s one more in a long history of excellent releases that does nothing to detract from the legacy.

MP3: Robert Pollard - "The Butler Stands for All of Us"

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