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Robert Pollard, lead singer of Dayton indie-rockers Guided By Voices, has released yet another solo album for us to feast upon.
For most musicians this would seem excessive, since Pollard's second solo effort Waved Out came out less than a year ago. But for this insanely prolific artist, it's no big deal.

In fact, Pollard has two more releases planned for May in the "Fading Captain Series" (a record label he created for personal releases and side projects). Add that to Guided By Voices' August release of their long-awaited LP Do The Collapse, and you've got a whole buttload of music for one short year. But this is something GBV fans have come to expect: huge amounts of music in short amounts of time.

The only drawback of this is the quality: if you're releasing 100 songs per year, you can bet a lot of them will be throwaways and outtakes. Fortunately, Kid Marine is far more consistent than either of Pollard's previous solo albums. Not in My Airforce, his first, had some great songs but was too scattered to really be called an "album." Last year's Waved Out was equally strong, but dark and disjointed.

Kid Marine is a step in a bold new direction for Pollard, layered with keyboards, bongos, feedback and even the occasional stringed instrument.

The opening track, "Submarine Teams," explodes into your ears with an eerie vocal loop and Pollard's trademark Beatles-influenced pop melodies. "Flings of the Waistcoat Crowd" is an appealing acoustic ditty, followed by the majestic rock of "The Big Makeover." The rest of the album ranges from dark, experimental post-punk ("Television Prison") to breezy ballads ("Town of Mirrors") to catchy, but slightly askew jams ("White Gloves Come Off").

By far the best song on the disc is "Men Who Create Fright." Its beautiful melody and anthemic chorus make it an immediate classic, to be put in the same rank as songs like "I Am a Scientist" and "Game of Pricks."

The biggest plus on Kid Marine is the clean production and great playing. Although Pollard strums all the guitars, the drumming is handled by ex-Breeder and current GBV skin-man Jim Macpherson, lending it an air of professionalism and solidity. Long-time GBV bassist Greg Demos provides a firm ground on which to layer sounds.

Ironically, the most disappointing aspect of the album is the mundane cover art and liner notes. Pollard is known for his inventive and bizarre picture collages, and it would have been a nice complement to the music.

In any event, Kid Marine is a dense album that deserves repeated listens (preferably through headphones). It's also a step in an exciting new direction for Pollard, as he pulls out of his reliance on 60's pop structures and verse/chorus/verse progressions to create a befuddling, but ultimately satisfying, listening experience.

-John Wenzel