Customer Reviews

From a Compound Eye

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoyed GBV's Earthquake Glue, but most of their later stuff, I think most would agree, hasn't been their best-- and no, I haven't heard the hundreds of unreleased songs-worth of box sets and other odd releases over the years. This has given me all the more reason to be amazed by the power and solidity of From A Compound Eye, which aside from its lack of 'singles,' might be one of Pollard's essential releases.

Unlike a GBV release, Compound Eye doesn't suffer from dramatic changes in style from one song to the next. The sound is uniform throughout, heavy in guitar, low in fidelity. 26 tracks stuffed onto a single CD aren't as cumbersome as you might expect. The individual tracks sink into the album's total atmosphere. And it might be a stretch, but I'm continually reminded of early 70's Genesis or King Crimson when I listen to this album (almost so much that I wonder if RP had this in mind). Like those early recordings, Pollard's singing often comes from a mysterious background behind arrays of guitar effects and solos (think of Peter Gabriel's haunting vocals on the album The Lamb Lies Down...). There thankfully is no thematic continuity to speak of, so it's not prog-rock.

I'm going to take a chance and say that this is Pollard's greatest leap in musical maturity and craftsmanship in years. Music nerds, at the least, are going to love this one. Ordinary indie fans-- maybe not so much, but I'd still give it a shot. I will say for sure that it's heads and tails above the last GBV album (whatever it was called).

Robert Pollard was the genius behind Guided By Voices for over twenty years. I flew back to Los Angeles just to see their last California show. I was standing next to longtime fan Dennis Cooper. He was the one who told me about the band in the first place. He also told me about JT Leroy. While JT Leroy is a made up person, Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices is the real deal. They are a very delicate rock and roll band. Robert Pollard continues on the tradition. It is stripping away all artifice. Some songs like "A Flowering Orphan" are very emotional and lovely sounding. There is some basic GBV rock and roll here. "Love Is Stronger Than Witchcraft" is a stand out track here. Robert Pollard combines a feeling for modern music and has a high level of literacy. Pollard often has the touch of a poet. This is a great album to wake up to. This is the best record from Merge in a while.

A lot has been said about this album... perhaps because there is a lot to say. Given: Robert Pollard is a prolific songwriter, with erratic output (not necessarily a bad thing -- his very jaggedness is part of his appeal, veering from lo-fi gold to psych-pop gems that'd make any second- or third-wave British invader proud), critical love/hate (see pitchfork and allmusic -- neither site can come right out and say they love him for his merits, both harp on his perceived faults).

"Ya know, Einstein never DID discover time travel. Or the fountain of youth. What a failure!"

Pollard = Einstein? Well, maybe not -- but, he has managed to put out a downright glorious latter-career album here. Several of these songs shirk the silver medal and go straight for gold -- "The Right Thing," "The Numbered Head," "Other Dogs Remain," all thoroughly enjoyable as hushed falling-asleep music or cranked on a Saturday morning with too much black coffee.

Critics like to point out that the album was allowed to cool for almost 2 years before it was released, yet it sounds fresher and freer than a lot of the tossed-off "love vs. death" journal entries passing for popular music these days.

There are pop hooks all over this creeper of an album. If you are still trying to figure out what Bob is "saying," maybe it won't connect on the pure visceral level that a good 90 dB thrashing of this double album will provide -- recommended: turn it up, turn your literal mind off and enjoy the effortless melodic indie-pop Mr. Pollard spins and flings out at a daunting rate.

As a late-comer to GBV and Robert Pollard (Isolation Drills was the first GBV disc I heard), I'm not as well versed in all things Bob as some reviewers are. I was immediately taken with "Drills" and have since purchased several GBV and Pollard solo project discs (including the almost always revered Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes). I gotta tell you folks, the older lo-fi CDs have their charm, mainly because they seem so real and unpretentious, but Bob has definitely grown as an artist since those days and the newer releases bear this out. This is a fine album, full of the infectious hooks that are Pollard's calling card, nicely paced and well arranged. I would place this with my personal favorites which include Isolation Drills, Earthquake Glue and Half-Smiles of the Decomposed. Bob is truly an exceptional artist, proficient songwriter and composer, and one of the truly gifted artists of the rock era. Check him out.

"From A Compound Eye" has come under an awful lot of criticism, as near as I can tell because it is not a Guided by Voices album. To the critics, I have nothing to say but this: GbV was wonderful, but GbV is no more. Get under it, people.

As for this album, I consider it to be one of Uncle Bob's best works, and certainly one of the most well-thought out, carefully crafted and polished. As promised, FaCE delivers an abundance of Mr. Pop's lauded "4 Ps": Prog, Psych, Pop & Punk. (Perhaps least of all "punk", but that has never been Pollard's school.) I consider it to be, by far, the most cohesive album that he has produced in years, with GbV or otherwise. (With the exception of "Half Smiles of the Decomposed", which was a powerful statement from perhaps the best, most prolific and under-listened bands to come out of the middle-American indie rock scene.) Most impressive is Mr. Pollard's apparent new-found ability to edit himself and to be selective about the quality of his included works. To wit, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of "Normal Happiness" later this year.

I also have to add (with something of a chagrin) that Bob's present touring band is tighter than GbV ever was. Maybe it's because they can't keep up with the Captain's dense drinking schedule. Not only do they do a top notch job of representing the new work, but the GbV "covers" in the encores sound fresher than they ever have.

Great album from start to finish. It takes a couple of listens but it becomes a classic.
great guitar playing by bob. And the hooks. the hooks are so different from anything he's ever done. I recommend this.

This album is so vast that even the most die hard Postal Blowfish will feel a little daunted. Not the heavenly dumpster dive that is Suitcase One or Two, still, it is a diverse range of Pollard tactics. The album bears a passing resemblance to his last solo album, Fiction Man, with plenty of instances of Circus Devils' art damage. So for those in the know, you know what you are in for. Hell, if you have only been following GBV since the TVT days and have no idea what the faded captain series is, you probably won't be thrilled either.Still, Pollard is generous with his cracked haywire musings. Dishing out four "sides" of post punk art rock, the artist shows he is not tapped but, instead, splayed out in many directions. With 20 tracks to choose from, there is plenty for the dedicated fan to latch onto. The downside is, of course, that there are tracks you just won't like. Songs like "50 year old baby" and "Kensington Cradle" just don't do it for me. These songs really highlight the problem with the Tobias/ Pollard collaborations. Simply, it sounds like there are trying to outfreak each other! Must be fun for them but doesn't do much for me. These songs should be filed under pretentious noodling.

Another thing that is going to make or break F.A.C.E. are those crazy Bob lyrics! Calling them abstract will be generous in most people's estimation.Those who've never heard Wire's more outre lyrical moments (or Pere Ubu or Captain Beefheart for that matter.) will crown Pollard the king of gooblety gook. Personally, I don't mind them so much. The artist has always had a side that has been trying to set blank verse to rock structure. Many of these songs work best if you don't consult the lyric sheet. It's the mood that carries many of these songs. What are songs like "The Right Thing" or "The Widow" about? I don't care! I love `em! Still you can't help but wish that Pollard would not treat his pop songsmith skills as being beneath him. Still when he rolls them out on songs like "Dancing Girls and Dancing Men", it all clicks together like some arcane jigsaw that simply assembles itself.

Also of note is the way that the album reveals itself in stages. The more you listen to it, different songs come to the fore. Which benefits later songs which are more prog influenced and not immediately accessible. Which is fortunate for such classic cuts like the Wire-y "Love is Stronger Than Witchcraft", the ever-shifting "Conqueror of The Moon", the moody "Lightshow" and the epitome of concise but epic "Kingdom Without". The sequencing of this album shows how front loaded most modern albums are. The earmarks of an underground classic.

While F.A.C.E can feel like simply too much for its hour plus running time, there is enough here that with a few minutes of CD programming the dedicated fan can feel pretty good about the album. The album is a pretty good fusion of the many sides of Pollard. And it certainly has legs! I think this album is another cornerstone of Bob's ouvre. File under milestones like Bee Thousand,Choreographed Man of War, Isolation Drills, The Harold Pig Memorial and Speak Kindly.A good place for a brave and hearty indie rock listener to start. I will be dipping back into this for years! Discover the flea markets of Jupiter!

I've been a fan of Guided By Voices ever since I heard "My Valuable Hunting Knife" on a local radio station in the summer of 1996. Ten years later I'm still listening to Bob Pollard's work (while a lot of the bands that I was into back then seem ridiculous now). "From A Compound Eye" is easily his best work since 2001's "Isolation Drills". In contrast to his last few releases with GBV, his latest outing seems to keep things sharper without all the layered, (sometimes overcomplicated) guitar parts. The vocals are also stellar. If you're a fan of GBV you'll love this cd. Even if you're looking for some great rock music, get this cd.

I have been following Bob's carreer since 1995, or whenever Bee Thousand was released. This is the most mature release of his career. I feel like everything was leading up to this, now that I have listened to the record over 50 times. We were actually able to get obtain burned copies through the newsgroups: Postal Blowfish, Disarm the Settlers, and Stong Lions. These groups are at times LOL hilarious even if you are not a true GBV/Bob fan(props to Jonesy). Catch Bob with another new band on the current tour and prepare to be enthralled with this record after the 4th or 15th listen. Try to find the vinyl if you can(there was a digital download included with mine). This guy has no equal when it comes to pure songwriting talent and he can back it up live. I've never seen anyone drink that much and hold it for over 3 hours. Bob rules!!

This album takes a few listens to get into....Once you do that, the catchinesss and hooks that we've come to love and expect from GBV/Bob come to the surface. This is probably his best release since Earthquake Glue. It's stonger than Half Smiles...Stongly recommended.