Customer Reviews

Tower in the Fountain of Sparks

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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And they don't let me down on this effort. Sprout lays down the instrumental tracks and Pollard contributes vocals and lyrics, with the exception of one exclusively Sprout track. The whole album jangles and buzzes and drones beautifully with Sprout's guitars, synths, and drums. Pollard's peerless melodic sense shines throughout and his trademark lyrical weirdness is as compelling and enigmatic as ever. This album has been in, on, or around my stereo for weeks. "Stifled Man Casino" is a crunchy guitar-pop gem guaranteed to make you get out your air guitar and nail those power chords, and "Tomorrow You May Rise" is a haunting anthem to human perseverance: "Stand up crying, don't bend/You are not lost in the present/Tomorrow you may rise..." The album's sound is remarkably crisp and clear for a relatively low-budget production and the cover art is monochromatically dark and cool (a photo of two guys at some kind of switchboard...Sprout and Pollard at the Fountain of Sparks?), much like the music itself. Buy it.

Good news for Guided By Voices fans, as 'Airport 5' is actually Robert Pollard & Tobin Sprout collaborating for the 1st time since 1996. According to the liner notes, Tobin recorded all the music at one location, and Bob did the vocals at another, but it says they co-wrote all but one song. Whatever the arrangement, the music will take you back to the good old days(i.e. Propeller - Alien Lanes)when these two were the Lennon/McCartney of central Ohio and beyond. Quality, jangly low-fi songs abound, and Pollard's knack for off-kilter song titles and lyrics is immediately evident on the opening track, "Burns Carpenter, Man of Science", with it's refrain "This kind of love/Will destroy the ozone". The album has all of the old GBV archetypes: the odd sci-fi themed number("Subatomic Rain"), the minute long beauty("White Car Creek"), the unhinged raver("One More"), and the pure pop moments("War & Wedding", many more). If you are a fan of the aforementioned salad days of GBV, this is an essential purchase.

Damn near Tonics II I must admit.Tonics and Twisted Chasers that is,a masterful collection of Bob n' Toby basement pop gems that are sure to please the old school line-up G.B.V fan.That particular recording is an absolute must.But here on Airport alot of great hook laden magic chords from the fingertips of Tobin Sprout once again.Just got it today and yeah it's growin' on me.Killer stuffs.Heard Airport II will be released soon as well.It's no easy task keeping up with the unhinged cranium pop master that is the ageless Robert Pollard,whose musical ideas and love of all that was great about the 60's mercybeat and British invasion stuff down thru the best of Bowie's Ziggy era perhaps and the quirky mid/late 70's punk yrs i.e. Wire,Pere Ubu,devo then sifting thru all that was great following in the post punk yrs. of early R.E.M/Replacements/Husker Du/green on red/Dream Syndicate...well you get the idea.Pollard and his revolving door men of many yrs.still keeping the torch lit and not giving in.At 36 I don't feel so old after all!!!

I was really looking forward to this new release pairing Robert Pollard with his GbV ex-bandmate, Tobin Sprout.I consider both of them to be exceptional songwriters;perhaps the finest in the USA.....however I find this effort to be spotty at best.Yes there are some good songs...Burns Carpenter,Man of Science,(builds nicely to the chorus) Total Exposure (pretty bridge),Stifled Man Casino,Mission Experiences.Musically I like this cd it's Pollard's vocals I take issue with.Subatomic Rain, Pollard sings with a weird affected falsetto.He shrieks through the entire One More.The Cost of Shipping Cattle is way too long.Feathering Clueless, would be a great song but Pollards ta,ta,tas at the songs end ruin it for me.There is one perfect song though....Circle of Trim.It's short, sweet with a very pretty hooky chorus,classic.That song will stick in your head all day long.The rest of the cd is a mixed bag ,good and not so good.I had such (perhaps) unreasonably high expectations for this Pollard/Sprout collaboration ,I'm feeling a little let down.Listen to it for yourself ....You may feel differently.

how can it go wrong? the greatness achieved during their first collaboration (all the classic era GbV and the incredible twisted tonic and chasers) is strangely missing. in its stead one gets an entirely enjoyable and bland album. this is a three star record. however, the very presence of stifled man casino earns it an extra one!

I am sorry. I am a big GBV fan, and a big Pollard fan, but he is losing his mind. No one on earth, ever, could expect to write half the number of songs he's publishing these days and have the majority of them be interesting tunes. This album is so non-memorable it's almost unbelievable that it comes from the (former?) master of the indie pop hook, Bob Pollard, and Tobin Sprout, a catcy tunesmith himself. I have listened to it five or six times since (gasp) purchasing it for full retail price, and I find it less interesting and more irritating very time. There are plenty of great GBV albums out there, as well as good Pollard side project albums. I am not, I might add, being an "old-GBV" purist, it's just simply that this album pretty much blows.

Do see GBV live if you get the chance, though. They rock. Bring earplugs.

This is a fine album that ocassionally reminds us of the magic between Bob and Tobin that has sorely been missed in GbV for some time.

Highlights: "Burns Carpenter," "Total Exposure" (one of Bob and Tobin's best songs, period), "Stifled Man Casino" and "Feathering Clueless."