The adopted rock-and-roll uncle of the underground, Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard returns with his third solo record (in name) to tide over all the good kids till the release of the new GbV record later this year. Subtitled "#1 In The Fading Captain Series", Kid Marine finds Pollard turning some of the same old tricks that have made his music a phenomenon to those in the know. But instead of merely recycling those musical themes, Pollard reworks them into something completely fresh and new, which makes him such a gift to the American soundscape.
"Submarine Teams" opens Kid Marine, a driving balls-out rocker that you've come to expect as the leadoff track on any Pollard record. The almost folky "Flings of the Waistcoat Crowd", meanwhile, is almost as pretty as Waved Out's "Caught Waves Again", if only for Pollard's double-tracked vocals. After "The Big Make-Over" (a midtempo rocker in the vein of "Queen of Cans and Jars" or "Dayton, Ohio - 19 Something And 5") comes "Men Who Create Fright", one of the two big singalong anthems that you can envision the kids shouting along to in the friendly confines of the Southgate House or the Vogue or any other GbV haunt. It's to Kid Marine what "Subspace Biographies" was to Waved Out - not quite the centerpiece of the record, too weird to be totally pop, but a song that is nonetheless instantly memorable. The other anthem of the album, "Far-out Crops", fits the mold as well. It's a moment that alternates between brilliant and hilarious when Pollard continues singing the chorus after the music fades, then sheepishly hits the "stop" button.
The second side of Kid Marine, as on past records, seems to trail off into various Bobdoodling. The resulting songs, still, are worlds better than a lot of the useless Mickey Mouse rock infesting radio these days - I'll take one "You Can't Hold Your Women" over a thousand copies of "Hooch" any day. And there are gems to be found here as well - "Powerblessings" is "Flings of the Waistcoat Crowd" brought full-circle, and "Town of Mirrors" develops to a long-awaited explosion that builds throughout Side 2.
Over the course of the album, you'll hear subtleties that you know you've heard somewhere else in the GbV catalog. In addition to the aforementioned nod to "Queen of Cans and Jars" and "Dayton, Ohio - 19 Something and 5" from "The Big Make-Over", you can also hear old tunes like "Alien Lanes", "Jellyfish Reflector" and "Chance To Buy An Island" in Kid Marine's "Television Prison" and "Snatch Candy". Still, those songs forge their own identities that make you forget any purely coincidental similarities.
As with most of Pollard's solo work, hold off on Kid Marine for awhile if you're a GbV novice. Diehards, however, will take to this record like moths to light. It's the perfect snack to keep our tummies full till the new GbV record, which will be a grand feast for everyone.
--Brandon Grimes