Boston Spaceships - Let It Beard

Where to start with Robert Pollard? It’s barely weeks since his last solo offering and the former Guided By Voices frontman is back already - this time with the soon-to-be disbanded Boston Spaceships, also featuring Chris Slusarenko from GBV and John Moen of Decemberists fame.

Let it Beard - their fifth and final release - is a double album of 26 tracks with surprisingly little filler - a testament to Pollard’s knack for never letting a song overstay its welcome. Tourist UFO is an early standout and as good anything the Spaceships have written - even before guest guitarist J. Mascis drops by to sign it off with an unmistakably brilliant solo.

While Pollard is sometimes criticised for not straying far enough from the GBV template, there’s also some more experimental material here - not least the krautrock-tinged German Field of Shadows with its rumbling bass and horns.

Thrown in alongside beautifully stripped-back acoustic tracks like No Steamboats there is more than enough to reward the listener over repeated plays.

Let it Beard is the sound of a band checking out on a high.

Review by Andy James

Boston Spaceships to unleash Let It Beard

Indie-boys of the world, prepare to wet yourself with excitement. Robert Pollard's latest project (yes, another new project - this man is a machine) is Boston Spaceships, a supergroup completed by Chris Slusarenko (The Decemberists) and John Moen (Guided By Voices). Their upcoming epic double-album also features (deep breath) guest guitarists Colin Newman (Wire), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs), Dave Rick (Phantom Tollbooth) and Mitch Mitchell (Guided By Voices). If that doesn't get your indie-senses tingling, nothing will.

A 75-minute thrill ride through the many forms Pollard has mastered in his three decades of writing and recording, we are reliably informed that Let It Beard lands somewhere between The White Album, Quadrophenia, Jesus Christ Superstar and Same Place The Fly Got Smashed. Holy Smoke! Pollard has called the double-LP "a subconscious concept album about the sorry state of rock and roll."

Let it Beard is out on August 2nd, but you can pre-order it now through Rockathon Records.

Robert Pollard - Lord of the Birdcage

These days it seems all you need for a bit of lo-fi indie acclaim is some spray-on jeans and a set of half-arsed tracks drenched in fuzz courtesy of GarageBand. Extra bonus points are up for grabs if you throw in a gorgeous frontwoman oozing west coast cool in a pair of Ray-Bans.

If former Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard doesn't fit the mould the one thing he's always had over younger upstarts is tunes and creativity in abundance. In their pomp GBV could chuck away more ideas in 90 seconds than the average indie band will have over a whole album.

A focus on high output without fussing over the subtleties of recording processes has also made Pollard one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation.

Like much of Pollard's vast back catalogue Lord of the Birdcage isn't immediate but grows on you with every listen. He made the record - his 17th full-length solo album - by writing poems first and then setting them to the music. While still exploring new approaches to songwriting, many of the usual hallmarks are here - including his unpolished vocal style and impenetrable lyrics. "Ash Ript Telecopter / Helium Cuisine...", anyone?

It's a highly enjoyable record though. Garden Smarm is the catchiest song you'll hear all year on the subject of putting a lawnmower away for the winter, and Aspersion sounds like the sort of thing Mark E. Smith would produce if he could hold a band together long enough to bash out something decent. Another standout track is the shimmering acoustic In a Circle which reveals Pollard's knack for delivering the big choruses with as much as confidence as a throwaway two-minute pop song.

Lord of the Birdcage is unlikely to win over hipsters or mountains of new fans - but it's a fine record nonetheless.

Review by Andy James

Guided By Voices back on the road

After breaking up Guided By Voices six years ago, Robert Pollard is reuniting the "classic" Guided By Voices line-up for a whistle-stop American tour. Joining Pollard will be Tobin Sprout and Charles "Mitch" Mitchell on guitar, Greg Demos on bass and Kevin Fennel bashing the skins, as they play GBV songs from 1992-1996 - taking trips through the albums Propeller, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars.

The tour dates are as follows (note, the dates are obviously in the month/day American format):

9/29 - TX Palladium Showroom Dallas TX
9/30 - East Side Drive, Austin, TX
10/3 - Pearl Theatre @ Palms Hotel, Las Vegas NV - SOLD OUT
10/4 - Wiltern, Los Angeles CA
10/5 - Warfield, San Francisco CA
10/7 - Crystal Ballroom, Portland OR
10/9 - Showbox So Do, Seattle WA
10/12 - First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
10/13 - The Riviera, Chicago IL
10/15 - Southgate House, Newport KY (Cincinnati) - SOLD OUT
10/16 - Outland Live, Columbus OH - SOLD OUT
10/21 - 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.
10/22 - Cat's Cradle, Carrboro NC - SOLD OUT
10/23 - Buckhead Theater, Atlanta GA
10/29 - Bluebird, Bloomington IN
10/30 - Majestic Theatre, Detroit MI
10/31 Oberlin College - Hales Gym, Oberlin OH
11/4 - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - On NBC at 12:35/11:45C
11/5 - Paradise, Boston MA
11/6 - Trocadero, Philadelphia PA - SOLD OUT
11/7 - Terminal 5, NYC - SOLD OUT