It is nice to see the elderly keeping themselves busy. With Robert Pollard’s failure to release an album since last July, I was beginning to worry that the old man was finally slowing. Instead, it looks like that time was simply spent with a little band you might remember: Guided By Voices. To prove that he hasn’t lost a step, though, Pollard will be releasing two albums in the first two months of 2011. The first, a solo effort entitled “Space City Kicks,” hit shelves on January 18th, whereas his collaboration with former GBV member Doug Gillard, “Waving At The Astronauts,” will be released on February 15th under the Lifeguards moniker. So much for slowing down with age.
“Touch Me in the Right Place at the Right Time” is the lead single from “Space City Kicks,” and it finds Pollard in a surprisingly laid back place. The lyrics of the track are comprised solely of the title and the phrase “that would be nice.’ The accompaniment is appropriately simple, coinciding with the theme of the song yet simultaneously driving the track forward at a nice clip. Never one to overstay his welcome, the track fades out just shy of the two minute mark and although not a ‘classic’ Pollard track, “Touch Me in the Right Place at the Right Time” shows that his age might in fact help him streamline his more bizarre tendencies.
Lifeguards, a collaboration where Doug Gillard sent Pollard instrumentation and allowed Pollard to record the vocals separately, is surprisingly more complex than “Touch Me…” Think “Mag Earwhig!” is to “Isolation Drills” as “Space City Kicks” is to “Waving at the Astronauts.” The first single, “Paradise Is Not So Bad,” is a typical Pollard homage to the ’60′s, but Gillard’s instrumentation is complex enough to separate this track from so many other Pollard tracks. It sounds like he enjoys singing again, treating “Paradise” as more than a required act of unloading his creative vaults. It is nice to see that Pollard is still willing to lean on others, too, because even the guy with the strongest tolerance needs a hand every now and then.
Connect with Robert Pollard and his many side projects: MySpace | Last.fm | Robert Pollard Website | Guided By Voices Website | Boston Spaceships Website | Circus Devils Website
Robert Pollard – “Touch Me In The Right Place At The Right Time”
Lifeguards – “Paradise Is Not So Bad”
