Strange things are afoot in the Guided by Voices camp. The long-touted, Ric Ocasek- produced, slick n'shiny new album is reportedly in the can, but will gather dust until the band decides whether to release it on old standby Matador or vie for global saturation via a yet-undetermined major label. For a rabid fan base accustomed to hearing a new record every year, this is uncomfortable.
But as Bob Pollard will tell you, he's not a patient man. And we faithful can reap the benefits of Bob's thumb-twiddling hours through his solo records: 1996's gigantic Not In My Airforce, last year's dark jewel Waved Out, and the new Kid Marine (released jointly by Pollard's label, Rockathon, and Recordhead, the label conceived by the good people at Luna Music in Indianapolis). Still moody in spots but light-hearted in comparison to its predecessor, Kid Marine is a worthy, if not absolutely essential, postcard from Dayton in the mode of the fan club release Tonics and Twisted Chasers.
The most striking element of Marine is the smattering of new sounds on the Pollard palette. The experimentation begins immediately with the bizarre voice loop that runs through the brisk, gliding rocker "Submarine Teams". Witness further the lush, folky harmonies of "Flings Of The Waistcoat Crowd", the off-kilter riffing of "The Big Make-Over", and the ethereal echoing vocals-and-violins verses of "Men Who Create Fright" (which abruptly launches into a galvanizing rock anthem) for evidence of Bob's sonic whimsy. Add the jagged garage fun of "Television Prison", the multi-hued mini-epic "Far-out Crops", and the winner here, "Strictly Comedy" (a gorgeous, guitar-and-synth-driven love letter to Wire's 154, which Pollard regards as sacred text), and you've got a monumental first side.
Side two isn't as laden with gems (the campfire jam "White Gloves Come Off", the vortex payoff to "Town Of Mirrors", and the sweet-hearted ditty "Powerblessings" notwithstanding), but is still very much a tribute to how much sonic and emotional interest Pollard can pack into two minutes of music, even if it's not his best material. Several of the cuts, including "Enjoy Jerusalem!" and the closing "Island Crimes", concentrate less on melody than on the texture of Pollard's cryptoid lyrics, which only get better with each release. To help matters, the vocals are way up in the (clear, punchy, hiss-free) mix this time. "Powerblessings" is especially effective, a touching little poem that would seem to be dedicated to Bob's fans ("Powerblessings for all the kids who come over/how they know is into you/how they know is into me").
Billed as "#1 In The Fading Captain Series" (implying that Pollard, nearing ancient status in rock years, is inching closer to hanging up his Chuck Taylors and settling in to make the "back porch music" he's often spoken of in interviews), Kid Marine has a bittersweet tinge. Life without GbV out on the road is a little too much for some of us to bear, especially in the rock-starved, crap-intensive musical climate we currently weather. On the bright side, Pollard will always have an avenue to release albums like this, major label or no.
--Lane Hewitt