Back in ’93 or ’94, at the height of his legend, Guided By Voices’ Robert
Pollard was like the proverbial dancing bear. The audience applauds the
performance not because the dance itself is good but because a bear is doing
it.
Similarly, Pollard became an indie superhero not because the
songs he wrote were all that great (along with some truly remarkable tunes, he
had a lot that were underdeveloped, abrupt, or just plain bad) but because the
songs were penned by a proudly alcoholic former fourth-grade teacher from
Dayton, Ohio, who was famously prolific and an obsessive archivist.
As it would for anyone, it proved difficult for Pollard to keep
dancing for very long. Although GBV released one of the all-time classic lo-fi
albums, 1994’s Bee Thousand, the band’s subsequent material proved too
self-indulgent and choppy, too sloppy and slapdash to maintain the myth, and
they veered dangerously close to self-parody and irrelevance. Pollard’s own
prolific nature didn’t help much, and the seemingly unending parade of
overlong albums and twice-a-year EPs — as well as the two immense and aptly
titled box sets Box and Suitcase — were overwhelming in their
density and too often underwhelming in their quality. The overall impression
was that despite the quantity of material, Pollard simply didn’t have a lot to
say.
In 1999, GBV tried sincerely to sell out with Do the
Collapse, which showed they were willing to put on a straight face and be
serious, but the album’s pristine production, courtesy of ex-Car Ric Ocasek,
turned off many long-time fans and failed to catch the attention of many new
listeners.
Isolation Drills, their second album for the TVT label and
their 12th overall, finds them still trying to claw their way out of lo-fi and
into a little bit of commercial/critical respectability. This time around,
they’ve enlisted the help of alt-producer Rob Schnapf (Beck and Mary Lou
Lord). Schnapf proves a wise choice, as he injects a little nuance and a lot
of life into the band’s sound. The guitars especially benefit from his knob
twiddling: “Skills Like This” gallops along on a major rock-and-roll
riff, while all six strings shimmer distinctively on the sublime “Chasing
Heather Crazy.” Isolation Drills is GBV’s guitar album, if you can
believe that.
Pollard himself also rises to the occasion with 16 well-crafted
songs, all of which — from the short but bittersweet “Sister I Need
Wine” to the anthemic “The Enemy” — are absolutely crucial. In
fact, while most rock albums feel too long at 12 or 13 songs, there is not an
ounce of filler on Isolation Drills, each of its songs contributing to
a very cohesive whole.
As a vocalist, Pollard has developed a surprisingly wide if still
somewhat limited emotional range. He recalls a young Michael Stipe on
“Fair Touching,” all dry mumbles buried beneath the dense guitars,
while on “Want One?” he fronts like the glam-rock god he posed as on
“The Weed King” from 1993’s Vampire on Titus. And on the
just-over-a-minute “Frostman,” his voice aches with age and sobriety
as he surveys his life’s winter. It’s a supremely jarring moment on an album
with so many high points.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Pollard seems to finally have
something to say. “How’s My Drinking?” is a gentle assessment of his
famed you-know-what, on which he exclaims, “I don’t care about being
sober/but I sure get around.” “Run Wild” plays like an anthem
to his past: “Leave your things in the streets/and run wild,” he
sings, but he knows he can’t heed that advice. The song is at once a
bittersweet ode to the past’s many indiscretions and a monument to his own
individualist ideals. Regrets but no regrets.
On “Fair Touching,” he delivers a line that is
painfully direct: “Currently fabulous/perhaps at last/the song you sing
will have meaning. ” Isolation Drills is shot through with a deep
sense of remorse over missed opportunities and a lurking fear of loneliness.
Pollard’s not speaking romantically but publicly — he seems aware that this
is probably GBV’s last shot at greatness and he sounds desperate to live up to
it. “There’s a better road ahead,” he sings on “The Brides Have
Hit Glass,” adding that “I just don’t know how to make it there/so
I’ll just hang around and take my chance.”
Ultimately, Isolation Drills is GBV’s All That You
Can’t Leave Behind, their triumphant return to form — even though they’ve
never sounded this good before. And early sales point to impending commercial
success as well. During the week following its release in early April,
Isolation Drills sold more copies than any of the band’s previous
albums, debuting on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at number 168.
It’s the first time any of the band’s albums have appeared on the list.
This time, the applause is for both the bear and the dance: the
grumbling, never-say-die Pollard and his spirited, poignant career album.
You can e-mail Stephen Deusner at letters@memphisflyer.com.
notes
by CHRIS HERRINGTON
After breaking into the Top 10 of our local music poll last week,
Greg Oblivian’s new band The Reigning Sound has a big week ahead of
them with a 7″ single and debut album, Break-up Breakdown, due out
on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. The Reigning Sound will be
performing on the porch at Shangri-La Records Friday, May 11th, at 5
p.m. and will be signing copies of the new records. Shangri-La has another
front-porch, record-release performance slated for Sunday, May 20th, at 4 p.m.
when singer-songwriter Cory Branan will be playing and signing copies
of his MADJACK debut The Hell You Say.
Also at Shangri-La this week, author Richard Younger will
sign copies of his new book, Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues: The Arthur
Alexander Story (University of Alabama Press). The late Alexander was
one of the soul stars of the Muscle Shoals sound in the ’60s and produced such
classics as “Anna,” “You Better Move On,” and
“Rainbow Road.” Younger will be at Shangri-La on Wednesday, May
16th, at 5 p.m. and will also be giving a reading and signing at The
Deliberate Literate at noon on Thursday, May 17th.
On the strength of the breakout hit “Chickenhead,”
Project Pat‘s Mista Don’t Play has been certified gold. The
video for the album’s second single, the ubiquitous-on-local-radio “Don’t
Save Her,” was recently shot in Miami with what the band’s label
characterizes as a Baywatch theme. It was directed by the same team who
helmed Three 6 Mafia‘s upcoming straight-to-video feature
Choices.
After two shows from the man himself a couple of weeks ago,
B.B. King’s Blues Club turned 10 on May 3rd. The club plans an official
anniversary celebration for this August.
Plan ahead: There are plenty of notable concerts on tap in
the coming weeks, with a special reunion by D.C. hardcore legends Bad
Brains leading the way. Re-dubbed “Soul Brains” for legal
reasons, H.R., Dr. Know, and company will be at Last Place on Earth on
Friday, June 15th. Tickets went on sale last Friday for a big hip-hop and
R&B show slated for the Mid-South Coliseum on Thursday, June 14th. The
Seagram’s Gin Live tour will feature Mystikal, Ludacris,
Jagged Edge, Jaheim, and Lil’ Jon and the East Side Boyz.
Bluegrass elder statesman Del McCourey will grace the stage at the
Hi-Tone Café on Thursday, May 17th, and will be followed at the
club on Sunday, May 20th, by the official release party for Cory Branan’s
debut album. — Chris Herrington
