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Blazing Gentlemen
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Blazing Gentlemen
Current price: $19.49
Barnes and Noble
Blazing Gentlemen
Current price: $19.49
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In the advance publicity for
Robert Pollard
's album
Blazing Gentlemen
(only the second solo effort he would release in 2013), the once and future
Guided by Voices
leader and tireless tunesmith declared that with this set, he "finally figured out how to write a song after 55 years." In this case, what that really means is that
Pollard
finally settled on a set songwriting technique that he applied to all 16 tunes on this album: he would hit upon a good idea for a title from overheard conversations, common phrases, or lines from movies or TV shows, and then let that title dictate the shape and content of the lyrics, after which
would match them to a melody. A quick spin of
suggests that
now lives in a world where everyone and everything communicates in a manner that recalls the surreal wordplay of the literally thousands of songs he's written since the mid-'80s, since the tunes on
don't sound especially different from his usual work. But if the basic form of his output hasn't changed much, the quality has --
is one of the most consistently solid albums
has made since emerging as a solo artist, and one that rocks with force and genuine authority. From the buzzy opening chords of "Magic Man Hype,"
is dominated by mighty blasts of six-string thunder and crashing drums;
and his studio partner
Todd Tobias
have conjured the sound of a powerful rock band on these sessions, and the result is one of the best exercises in hook-laden hard rock
has offered us since
GbV
's
Isolation Drills
. With titles like "Triple Sec Venus," "Professional Goose Trainer," "Faking the Boy Scouts," and "Lips of Joy," you can be forgiven for thinking
's claims of new breakthroughs in songwriting are just his way of pulling our leg, but the melodies are beefy and forceful throughout, and when his repeated cries of "What can I do? I like you" finally gives way to a shout of "I love you!" on the title cut, it represents that rare moment when
has expressed a recognizable emotion and made us believe it, and it's a kick. However he arrived at
,
truly delivers the goods with his album, and he's advised to follow this method more often, since it sure seems to work for him. ~ Mark Deming
Robert Pollard
's album
Blazing Gentlemen
(only the second solo effort he would release in 2013), the once and future
Guided by Voices
leader and tireless tunesmith declared that with this set, he "finally figured out how to write a song after 55 years." In this case, what that really means is that
Pollard
finally settled on a set songwriting technique that he applied to all 16 tunes on this album: he would hit upon a good idea for a title from overheard conversations, common phrases, or lines from movies or TV shows, and then let that title dictate the shape and content of the lyrics, after which
would match them to a melody. A quick spin of
suggests that
now lives in a world where everyone and everything communicates in a manner that recalls the surreal wordplay of the literally thousands of songs he's written since the mid-'80s, since the tunes on
don't sound especially different from his usual work. But if the basic form of his output hasn't changed much, the quality has --
is one of the most consistently solid albums
has made since emerging as a solo artist, and one that rocks with force and genuine authority. From the buzzy opening chords of "Magic Man Hype,"
is dominated by mighty blasts of six-string thunder and crashing drums;
and his studio partner
Todd Tobias
have conjured the sound of a powerful rock band on these sessions, and the result is one of the best exercises in hook-laden hard rock
has offered us since
GbV
's
Isolation Drills
. With titles like "Triple Sec Venus," "Professional Goose Trainer," "Faking the Boy Scouts," and "Lips of Joy," you can be forgiven for thinking
's claims of new breakthroughs in songwriting are just his way of pulling our leg, but the melodies are beefy and forceful throughout, and when his repeated cries of "What can I do? I like you" finally gives way to a shout of "I love you!" on the title cut, it represents that rare moment when
has expressed a recognizable emotion and made us believe it, and it's a kick. However he arrived at
,
truly delivers the goods with his album, and he's advised to follow this method more often, since it sure seems to work for him. ~ Mark Deming
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