Customer Reviews

Waved Out

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

 

 

Somewhere in the world is a band looking for that perfect hook. I have news for them. Robert Pollard already knows it, played it, and thought of ten more while you were reading this. This man continues to write melodies that are so stunning, it's almost embarrassing. Wow. Buy this album if you want to hear one of the best solo albums of all time.

you won't be dissapointed with this one! another instant classic from mr. pollard and friends, waved out proves that gbv in all its incarnations just gets better and better! at times both inspiring and sobering, mournful and joyful- a record that requires repeat listenings! enjoy!!

The lyrics on this one are among Bob's best--surpassed only by Kid Marine. It's a dark album, possibly autobiographical. The recurring theme seems to be fading celebrity. "Waved Out", "People are Leaving", "Artificial Light", "Make Use", "Just Say the Word", "Pick Seeds from My Skull" are the highlights.

Second solo release from the prolific singer/songwriter of Guided By Voices. Catchy "lo-fi arena rock", to quote the master himself. This continues where NOT IN MY AIRFORCE left off and certainly deserves your ear. Check out "Subspace Biographies" and understand why this man can make anyone whistle while they work.

Okay, so everybody into Guided By Voices knows that Robert Pollard records LOTS of songs and often releases MANY discs a year. This sometimes causes a glut of GBV product to hit the market at once, so two years ago Pollard started releasing solo releases to capture the more experimental stuff. Naturally, it's not ALL experimental, and here,like on Pollard's first "solo" Not in My Airforce, you have class-A GBV material meeting and attempting to mesh with weird and even downright wacky B-side style material. The results?

Ultimately, I must admit that I'm more pleased with this album than Airforce. For one, the production is mostly good, though being from many different sources it DOES vary throughout. Pollard's influences are in high use here, from Wire to the Who to the Beatles... In fact it is from the White Album that Pollard was apparently inspired for "Showbiz Opera Walrus", perhaps the strangest track in Pollard's entire career, and that's REALLY saying something...

But then you have the A-list, and that kicks off with the first track, "Make Use", which throttles it with the best of 'em. Add the multi-textured "Subspace Biographies", the Wire-esque title track, the psychedelic "People Are Leaving" and the pretty "Pick Seeds From My Skull". And fortunately the songs in between, if not as great, are at least interesting and full of neat tricks. The largest problem, in fact is that old Pollard Problem: there's little continuity of ANY kind, ANY where. Still, a good one, a package worthy of the full GBV title, which reminds me that I'm VERY excited about the NEXT GBV package (already being recorded!) with Ric Ocasek as producer! Meantime, if you're a GBV/Pollard fan, kickback and have a some fun. In found that I did, and you can bet your Postal Blowfish that Pollard certainly is...

This is a Bob Pollard record, not a Nick Lowe or Fountains of Wayne album. I think people seeking great craftsmanship and uniform song quality (whatever that means) are missing the point entirely. This record is a juggernaut of self-expression, albeit filtered through Pollard's left-field perspective (for better and for worse). Yes, "Waved Out" is spotty at times ("Walrus"), and much of it seems off-the-cuff ("Vibrations in the Woods"), but a little listener investment yields many rewards:

Buried (or, in many cases, barely concealed) in the opaque wordplay is a sense of loss and self-doubt that is unique among any Pollard/GBV album (except for maybe "Isolation Drills"). The album title is significant: I read a review that compellingly pointed out that the record loosely follows a "wave" concept. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but when you (even casually) take note of the SEQUENCE of the tunes along with those tunes' tempo, tone, and subject matter, you can literally feel the emotional wave--elation/anxiety building to a crest then crashing. Example:
1. Make Use
2. Vibrations in the Woods
3. Just Say the Word.

I think these three songs create a "wave," so to speak. And if this is too hippie for you, pardon me. "Make Use" is the manic intro (wave building); "Vibrations" is the crest (that's why it's such a short song--a "throwaway," right?); and "Just Say the Word" is (and FEELS) like the crashed wave lapping the shore.

This pattern repeats throughout the album; the cycle typically ends with a brief (and often morose) tune. So, just for the record, the short songs are, in my opinion, there for a reason.

When you know a little bit about Pollard and his songwriting/recording methods, albums like "Waved Out" are all the more remarkable for their scope and quality. Take a look at the release schedule for GBV/Pollard in 1998--it's yet another multi-album year. Pollard is an artist best appreciated (in my opinion) when given an opportunity to present an uninterrupted flow of musical ideas--even when the results are technically flawed.

I enjoy a well-crafted record, but I think Pollard is at his best (and easiest to enjoy) in this more intimate, less polished format.

perhaps not as mind-blowingly good as as the first, not in my airforce, but a fabulous journey through the twisted mind of a true genius. waved out begins with a bang-make use is as loud and catchy as anything bob's ever written. the next two songs are great, but really strange. then, as if he's lulled you into a false sense of security, he unleashes the best song ever written, subspace biographies. i'm not kidding. it is one of those purely perfect songs that from the moment you first hear the opening guitar, there is a recognition deep within your musical soul. a recognition that bob didn't so much write this as discover it. it had been there all along. only he had the ears to hear it. only he had the mind to know what it was. and only he had the talent to bring it to us in its magnificence. this is the essence of bob. he is not an inventor. he is not a scientist. he is an explorer.

This is Pollard's best solo record. if it were released under the GBV moniker, it would widely be hailed as the greatest album he's released since Under the Bushes, Under the Stars.

One of its main strengths is its brevity. at only a little over 30 minutes, it's easily digestible and even lends itself well to repeat listens (something i can rarely do with other albums, GBV or not).

All the songs have something good to offer, and many are vital additions to Pollard's catalogue. for instance, "Wrinkled Ghost" ranks as one of his finest pop tunes, one that Bee Thousand fans will love not only for its melody but also its fidelity (it was recorded onto an 8-track by Tobin Sprout).

"People are Leaving" is a unique song for Pollard, a rather powerful, sad song featuring two entirely different sets of vocals interweaving to nice effect.

And of course, one has to mention the mighty "Subspace Biographies," which was a popular concert favorite. One verse, an unforgettable chorus repeated a handful of times, and a catchy yet vaguely sinister keyboard riff; perfection.

I could go on and on about every song, but suffice to say Waved Out is a grower. It yields its rewards slowly and meticulously to patient listeners.

PS: I should mention that the song "Showbiz Opera Walrus" isn't all that great, but is at least subpar in a weird way. It doesn't drag the album down the same way some "serious" songs drag down a few of the later GBV albums.

"... justifying our existence, in the belly of the whale." Just one of many great lines contained here. There's a real sense of fun and experimentation throughout this album, but some people seem to mistake this for superficiality. That's a real shame, because this is by no means a "weak" Robert Pollard album. Just like his 1st solo album "Not In My Airforce", the quality dips towards the end, but this is more an indication of how he likes to construct an album- than it is a lack of ideas. It is a very colorful album; I think the thing that stands out the most is how each song successfully makes use of a certain effect; be it on the vocals, drums, or guitar; it just fits each song so well. Make Use is a very strong opener- great guitar riff, great drum pattern, an unexpected burst of keyboard; a classic. Vibrations In the Woods- one of my favorites, it has a nice homemade sound to it, with a cool drum effect, and the catchy/cryptic refrain of "We are headed North." Subspace Biographies is a fan favorite- an extremely simple but propulsive rocker. The next real highlight is the awesome combo of "Whiskey Ships" & "Wrinkled Ghost"- observe how Pollard builds substantial pop confection out of two meager little riffs. Just as you start to think "Wrinked Ghost" is the melancholy pop highlight of the album- the amazing "People Are Leaving" comes along and blows away everything that came before. Pollards' diversity is clearly one of his strong points, and here, out of nowhere, he produces this almost unbearably pretty piano based tune with a cool doubled vocal effect- each vocal singing a different lyric. This is one of the prettiest songs he has ever written, and a great ode to friends who have passed away. Rumbling Joker is another really nice song- stark and plodding, it sounds like it should have been the closing song on the album. But no, things continue with "Showbiz opera Walrus" probably the only real clunker here. Obviously, Bob is just having fun, and it's clear evidence of his infamous lack of quality control. Same for the next 2 songs, which have typically great lyrics, but kind of drift away into nothingness. But most GBV fans are already accumstomed to this kind of thing. By the 3/4 of the album, you're already reaching for the repeat button, to savor the brilliance of what came before. Seriously, aren't you? :)

First, let it be said that Robert Pollard is a songwriter of significant ability. Second, that scattered throughout the entire Guided By Voices/Pollard discography are songs of, in this reviewer's opinion, breathtaking genius. Third, however, that with such genius there are bound to be moments that are just, well, uninspired. Such moments are what I find in increasing abundance on Waved Out, Pollard's second "solo album" proper. (I find the use of the phrase "solo album" in such a context nowadays to be a little quaint, given that most Guided By Voices albums since the departure of Tobin Sprout could probably be classified as Robert Pollard "solo albums").

Save for the lush Just Say The Word, the brutish anthem Subspace Biographies, the retro-trippy People Are Leaving and the stately balladry of Rumbling Joker (all of which are gut-churningly wonderful gems of songsmithy), the songs on Waved Out are, while evidently the work of a master, for me merely Robert Pollard doing Robert Pollard. Sure, he does a passable job of it - for God's sake, he's Robert Pollard (now this is just getting silly), but given that he does so much Robert Pollard (one needs only to cast a fleeting eye over his discography), in the end it all becomes a little overwhelming. That said, this is not a record that, once heard, I could readily do without.