REVIEWSRobert Pollard, ‘The Crawling Distance’

6

• SPIN Rating:6 of 10

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Label: Guided By Voices Inc.

This solo album by the ridiculously prolific former Guided by Voices leader, with help from instrumental accomplice Todd Tobias, features another ten songs of standard Pollard-isms -- vaguely British, Robyn Hitchcock–esque vocals warped by reverb and Echoplex mazes; surrealistic, first-thought-next-thought lyrics; sudden loud crunches of lo-fi guitar; and melodies that soar but never quite achieve the permanence of his best work. One notable change: He's actually easing up and expanding some songs past the three-and even four-minute mark. Dare we call him a balladeer?

Listen: "Red Cross Vegas Night" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

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