Robert Pollard - Waved Out

Robert Pollard

Waved Out (1998): Like most people, I don't see the major distinction between Pollard solo and GBV albums, since he brings in members of the band to play on his solo records and writes all the material, same as in GBV.  This is another diary entry in Pollard's endless quest to jot down and record every note he's ever imagined, and it's a pretty good one.  It's darker and proggier and practically non-poppy compared to your typical GBV longplayer.  The songs are all full-length, fully fleshed out songs (no sub-minute snippets and fragments), and all uniformly moderately well produced.  There's a tad bit of throwaway silliness ("Showbiz Opera Walrus") but that's only one song; most of the rest of the material is atypically furrow-browed and dour.  As usual with Pollard, it takes repeated listens to sift the diamonds from the rough ("Subspace Biographies", "Wrinkled Ghost", the lounge-jazzy "People Are Leaving", "Rumbling Joker").  The heavy seriousness of the atmosphere and relative uniformity of the sound make it somewhat monotonous to sit through all the way to the end.  In other words, this is a CD that GBV fans will want to own, but non-fans should stick to Bee Thousand.  ***