Joe Zibell's review of Waved Out

Being Quail and Quasar: Pollard Mines Another Solo Gem
Joe Zibell

Robert Pollard
Waved Out
Matador

Robert Pollard's latest solo offering finds the Guided By Voices front-man moving in new directions, while continuing his streak of melodic hooks and cryptic, if not nonsensical, lyrics. What this album lacks in clarity (of sound and intention) it makes up for with living room-intimacy and honesty.

This eclectic mix of songs features ready-for-performance-rockers ("Make Use", "Subspace Biographies") and seemingly mindless afterthoughts("Vibrations in the Woods", "Artificial Light"). In spots there's odd percussion and the surprise inclusion of synthesizers. The production quality ranges from good to squeaky lo- fi, and everything in between. Fans who were hoping for a clean and polished continuation of the slick (for Pollard) Guided by Voices release, Mag Earwhig, will have to wait for the next GBV album, which will be produced by Ric Ocasek. Look at Waved Out as more of a continuation of Pollard's first solo release: '96's Not in My Airforce.

There is a fine balance between branching out and trying something different, and sticking to reliable methods. As new as "Make Use" feels and sounds, "Wrinkled Ghost" is a continuation of the catchier-than-hell ethos which Pollard will never cease to embrace. He holds nothing back when it comes to recording and the results can sometimes be disconcerting. The dissonance-drenched "Just Say the Word", the clumsy "Artificial Light", and the clunky "Showbiz Opera Walrus" (with its psychedelic-era Beatles' tape loops) come to mind. But he's the kind of writer who follows clutter with dazzle. "People Are Leaving" (which follows "Artificial Light") is a fantastic tune with piano accompaniment. It's noteworthy especially for the two separate vocal lines being sung simultaneously, each with its own set of lyrics.

The underlying current of this album is the fact that this is as personal an offering that Pollard has presented. The confessional sounding "Rumbling Joker" ("Rumbling joker hides a lot/Rumbling joker lies a lot to you") has a tinge of sorrow in it that has, for the most part, been absent from Pollard's previous work. The isolationist "Pick Seeds From My Skull" (clocking in at 1:07) is the mini-masterwork of the album. The line, "I am alone forever", is sung with a thousand emotions at once; at the same time it can be interpreted as conveying regret, acceptance, contentment, doubt and desperation.

While lacking the continuity of previous releases, Waved Out is notable for its reflection of the artist through the haphazard structure of the album, the varied tangents within it, and the evidence for Pollard's continuous march towards Songwriters' Paradise. This album reinforces that his progression is marked as much by middle-of-the-night improvs and whims, as it is by something as polished as "Official Ironman Rally Song" or "Bulldog Skin."