Robert Pollard
"Normal Happiness" CD
Merge Records
Genres: lo-fi, indie rock, indie
pop
November 2006 |
Our tireless worker continues his productivity
streak with Normal Happiness. It's been awhile since I've
indulged in Pollard's work (admittedly I haven't followed his
post-GBV career very attentively), so I was pretty comforted by
the revelation that this work isn't far from his days of yore. As
usual, these songs aren't all winners, but when they're good they're
pretty great. Pollard's love of supernatural metaphor and
unusual wordplay remain intact, and his distinct melodic style and
unique vocals are on display in full form.
When Normal Happiness is good, it is
generally quite a pleasure. The sad fact is that this isn't always the
case. As has become typical of Mr. Pollard's output, there are
some real moments of mediocrity on this record; blips range from the
unsalvageable (miserable "I Feel Gone Again" and atmospheric but
deathly "Join The Eagles") to the merely mildly unfortunate (curiously
bland closer "Full Sun (Dig The Slowness)" and uninfectious "Boxing
About"). Still, the goodies don't disappoint - infectious rockers
"Accidental Texas Who" and "Rhoda Rhoda" work alongside slower,
meandering compositions like "Pegasus Glue Factory" and "Tomorrow Will
Not Be Another Day". And a "monster anthem" named "Give Up The Grape"
is something only Robert Pollard can pull off. The Man's Merge
debut isn't perfect, but there's enough good stuff on here to make
this worthy of note for most followers of the GBV compendium.
mp3 (from robertpollard.com):
supernatural
car lover
80%
Fun Fact: Robert
Pollard has over 900 songs registered with his name to BMI. (source)
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 16 tracks, 34:20,
distributed by
the label,
released 2006] |